Police officers from Orleans attend funeral in Rochester

‘Law enforcement is a brotherhood. We’re all brothers and sisters out there and when something like this happens it hurts.’
Albion Police Chief Roland Nenni

Police officers from every department in Orleans County attended the funeral in Rochester today for Daryl Pierson. About 1,000 law enforcement officers were at the funeral at Blue Cross Arena.

Pierson, 32, died a week ago when he was shot by a man wanted on a parole violation. That man fled from police after a traffic stop.

The contingent from Orleans County included eight officers and Police Chief Roland Nenni from the Albion Police Department, three officers from the Sheriff’s Department, one from the county jail, two officers from the Medina Police Department and four officers from the Holley PD.

“Law enforcement is a brotherhood,” said Nenni, chief of the Albion PD. “We’re all brothers and sisters out there and when something like this happens it hurts.”

One Albion police officer Kyle Edwards worked with Pierson at the Rochester PD before Edwards transferred to Albion about four months ago. Jeff Cole, a deputy with the Sheriff’s Department, attended the same police academy class with Pierson.

Nenni said the funeral for Pierson was “very touching” and a great tribute to the 8-year veteran of the RPD.

The funeral was also a reminder of how dangerous the job can be for police officers. Nenni said officers in Albion and other departments in Orleans County often have to apprehend parolees.

“We come in contact with parolees a lot,” he said. “It could have been any one of us.”

The officers attended the funeral on their own time.

“We wanted to show our respects,” Nenni said.