From today’s service.

Amazing turnout and support...

Thin Blue Line...

May the Gods watch over those who choose to work the beat.

This was an incredible and impressive heart felt ceremony. I am so proud that our university was able to put this together and help with this event for the Corona family. Natalie will be in our hearts forever.

Excerpt from Bob Dunning's column:

Many of us were struck by the beautiful photograph of Natalie, arms outstretched, extending a version of the American flag known as the “Thin Blue Line” flag several years before she became a Davis police officer.

Accompanying the photo, Natalie wrote, “I would like this photograph to serve as my gratitude for all those law enforcement men and women who have served, who are currently serving and those who have died in the line of duty protecting our liberties in this great country.”

For many of us, it was the first time we’d seen the Thin Blue Line flag.

The photo was not posted in anger or hatred or defiance or righteousness. It was posted with love and with pride. In it, she looks happy and joyful and free as a breeze, proud in the very best of ways. It is indeed one of the most striking and beautiful photographs I’ve seen in a long time.

Unfortunately, a group of students at UC Davis, known as the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission, didn’t want us to hold all those wonderful thoughts about Natalie.

Adding insult to tragedy, they attacked the photo as racist, seemingly because some white supremacists in Charlottesville decided to co-opt that flag as their own.

Associating Natalie with such a group is flat-out wrong and the ECAC knows it, but they simply couldn’t bear to see so much positive attention being showered on a member of the Davis Police Department.

Relations between law enforcement and groups who feel they are being unfairly targeted are a serious topic that deserves our constant concern and attention.

However, 22-year-old Natalie Corona, the pride of Arbuckle and a woman who desired to do good in this world, was precisely the kind of person members of the ECAC should be applauding. They chose instead to attack and attack hard. Their words served only to further the divide.

For now, our love and prayers and our very souls should be turned toward the Corona family, holding them all up as high as we can and thanking them for the gift of Natalie, who died trying to make our town a better place for all of us.

https://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/dunning/bob-dunning-natalie-is-a-gift-we-should-be-thankful-for/

Great article by Bob. We are in town today and seeing the blue ribbons along 5th (the procession route to Arbuckle?) was sombering. Such a tragedy.

It seems like the ribbons on 5th are near where she was killed (5th near D). I believe the procession exited campus in the northerly direction on Anderson to Covell before entering northbound 113.

So many of my friends and family have watched this ceremony, some over and over again. It was such an impressive show of love, affection and pride for Officer Corona. 8000+ people attended this event and were awed by the entire event; from the bagpipes to Billie Ray Cyrus it was as emotional an event that I have ever been witness to. I think that the most memorable part was the part at the end where Natalie is on the radio calling in with her call signs and final watch call. I was pretty good with the emotional part up to then but I lost it with this final audio. Many tears. I would like to know who put this great event together because they deserve huge praise for doing this so well. And, where did the bagpipers come from? Again I am very proud that our university hosted this impressive event.

The ribbons were in 5th out to pole line. Nice showing by the community

The Enterprise answered some of my questions about this awesome event. The bagpipers were courtesy of the California Professional Firefighters Bagpipers and the Sacramento Firefighter Bagpipe band. They were great. Other sources tell me that UC Davis actually provided most of the support for this occasion, especially the audio and video for the event and the Pavilion staff to the quick turnaround from the basketball game and the fast set up for the event. On a different note, if anyone of you have any bit of Scottish blood in you and like bagpipes go to youtube and look under bagpipes for: Black Watch Regiment Homecoming Perth 2018. These troopers are just back from Afghanistan, still in desert camo and marching thru the streets of Perth to joyous crowds with the Black Watch Pipers leading the way. This is probably the best Scottish fighting unit in history. Goosebumps time!!!