LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Floyd County community has laid to rest the third officer who died in the fatal shootout that happened in Allen.

It’s been a hard week in Floyd County, as they honored and lay to rest three officers and K-9 who died in a shootout in Allen Thursday, June 30. A tragic incident that Edward Gately, a Police Officer from Boston, said hits close to home. 

“By the grace of God, it could’ve been me, it could be any one of my friends. You know, every time you go to work and put this uniform on, you don’t know if you’re coming home. It’s just sad,” Gately said.

Gately was just one of the many officers who attended the funeral for 28-year-old Jacob Chaffins. He said it’s about supporting his brothers and sisters in blue, especially those fallen officers who sacrificed it all in the line of duty. 

“What if something happens to me? Other offices support my family and come and show that you’re not going to be forgotten,” Gately said. “Not just a name, or a badge, I’m actually a person, with family and people who love me.”

Chaffins was a Police Officer for the Prestonsburg Police Department, a member of the Fire Department, a Sergeant in the National Guard, and he served as an EMT in his community.

Sergeant Gary Thurman with the Lexington Police Department said it’s more than honoring these fallen officers. 

“Being a child of law enforcement or any first responder or wife or husband of a first responder not knowing if they’re gonna make it back at the end of the day. So we want to not only honor the hero but also the family,” Thurman said.

Thurman and Gately said the best thing people can do during these tough times is thank their local law enforcement for the sacrifice they make daily for their communities. The three officers who died will be buried in the Gethsemane Gardens in Prestonsburg.

The last funeral for Floyd County’s K-9 who also died Thursday evening will be held on Friday at the Mountain Arts Center.