Reprinted from the San Francisco Tribune

They buried police Sgt. John Scott Macaulay Tuesday, July 20, in a funeral fit for a hero, full of pageantry and the mournful dirge of bagpipes, with a cortege led by more than 100 motorcycle officers.

It was the city’s largest police funeral, and it brought police from more than 100 towns and cities, from as far away as Kentucky.

More than 3,000 police and civilians came to St. Mary’s Cathedral to hear Macaulay eulogized as a bible-reading, dedicated officer who gave his life to make the city “a better and safer place.”

“John’s death has once again brought into focus the ills of society,” said the Rev. John P. Heaney, a police chaplain, “and the inadequate manner in which we attempt to control them.”

“The cause for which he struggled is good and just,” Heaney told a standing room-only crowd, “and his efforts were total.”

The Mass was conducted by Archbishop John R. Quinn and Monsignor James Flynn, pastor of Macaulay’s parish.

Macaulay died of wounds received July 6 when he was shot by a shoplifting suspect whose car he stopped at Van Ness Avenue and Willow Street.

David Arien, 41, who had a history of mental problems, escaped in a hail of bullets from police backup units and drove to Franklin and Post streets, where he shot and killed his 36-year-old wife, Jonelle, and then turned the gun on himself.

Macaulay was shot twice. One bullet lodged in his brain, and he never recovered from a coma.

Had he lived, doctors said, it would have been with his left side paralyzed and his vision impaired.

He is the 87th San Francisco police officer to die in the line of duty.

A native San Franciscan and a bachelor, the 35-year-old Macaulay joined the department in 1971 and was assigned to Northern Station when he was shot.

The oldest of 10 children, he three times won the Medal of Valor for heroism, and had five police commission commendations and more than 100 captain’s commendations for outstanding work.