‘We’re hurting’: Small NC city mourns loss of first officer to die in line of duty
By Friday afternoon, tributes to Mount Holly Police Officer Tyler Avery Herndon lay all around the Mount Holly Municipal Complex.
Nearly a dozen bouquets of flowers were placed outside near the police department’s doorway, where a blue and black ribbon was tied. Inside, a local business had donated and printed a picture of 25-year-old Herndon in his uniform.
He died following an exchange of gunfire early Friday in the Belmont area of Gaston County. The suspect is in custody, officials said.
Herndon’s death marks the first time a Mount Holly officer has died in the line of duty, police Chief Don Roper said during a news conference Friday afternoon.
Herndon was shot while responding to a break-in call at a car wash at 313 Beatty Drive, in a neighborhood east of Belmont Abbey College, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.
Herndon was taken to CaroMont Main, where he died.
The suspect, Joshua Tyler Funk, 24, sustained a gunshot wound, resulting in a minor injury. Funk was treated and released to the Gaston County jail.
Two Mount Holly officers and a Gaston County police officer were also involved and were not injured. They have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure, CMPD said.
Funk was charged with first-degree murder and is being held at the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, police said. Funk has a Mount Holly address, but he has also lived in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, according to public records.
In October, Funk was charged with felony larceny in Iredell County, records show. That case is pending. A criminal background search also shows mostly traffic offenses for Funk. He pleaded guilty in 2018 to a disorderly conduct charge in Erie County, Pennsylvania, according to records.
North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation and Gaston County and Mount Holly police are investigating the incident, Roper said.
Roper refused to say whether the other officers fired their weapons or give additional details about the incident, citing the ongoing investigation.
“As is standard procedure with any officer involved shooting, the Internal Affairs Bureau with the Mount Holly Police Department will conduct a separate but parallel investigation to determine whether department policies and procedures were followed,” CMPD said.
CMPD spokesman Rob Tufano said the department sometimes helps with the communications of small neighboring law enforcement departments that have few or no public information officers when high-profile incidents occur.
‘The guy you can’t help but to like’
Standing next to a picture of Herndon in the atrium of the complex – a few feet from a Christmas tree – Roper said Herndon was an integral member of the close-knit 36-person department.
Herndon had been with the Mount Holly Police Department for less than two years. His 26th birthdayis Sunday.
“We’re hurting,” Roper said. “Our department is hurting. Our family is hurting, but we’ll rely on each other to get through this.”
Herndon was almost like a brother or child to him, Roper said, adding, “He’s the guy you can’t help but to like.”
When Mount Holly Mayor Bryan Hough woke up to a phone call at 5 a.m. Friday, he knew it wasn’t good.
“Honestly, I sat down and I just couldn’t believe I just received a call of that nature. This whole day has just been surreal,” he said.
Hough described Herndon as a generous person, who would use his own money to pay for someone’s gas and volunteered at schools.
“Anytime there’s a loss of life it’s awful ... When it’s a police officer, that person is protecting you and me,” Hough said.
Herndon graduated from UNC Charlotte in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and criminology, a university spokesperson said.
Hough said that city leaders and the family are planning ways to honor Herndon. The mayor encouraged community members to place a blue light on their doors. Some local businesses have said they will donate all proceeds on Saturday toward the family.
Roper said that since Herndon’s death, the department had received a flurry of messages from local businesses, friends and elected officials offering support.
Friday evening, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, in a press release, said he had spoken with Herndon’s parents and had ordered all North Carolina flags at state facilities to be lowered to half-staff until sunset on Monday.
“Our prayers are with family and friends of Mount Holly Police Officer Tyler Herndon who was killed in the line of duty this morning protecting the community he loved,” Cooper said.
When officers get injured
From 2010 through last year, 511 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the United States, including 11 in North Carolina, according to FBI data.
One North Carolina officer — a Mooresville Police Department K9 officer — was killed last year. Officer Jordan Harris Sheldon, 32, was shot and killed in May 2019 after responding to a routine traffic stop.
December is the deadliest month for officers, FBI data show. Fifty-four law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in December, from 2010 through 2019. That includes eight last December.
Since 2015, six officers nationwide died responding to a burglary call, according to FBI data.
Staff writer Gavin Off contributed.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 8:33 AM with the headline "‘We’re hurting’: Small NC city mourns loss of first officer to die in line of duty."
