TORONTO - As many as 10,000 police officers, emergency personnel and members of the public are expected Tuesday for what could be one of Canada's largest-ever funerals for a slain cop.
Thousands of other Canadians are expected to line the funeral procession route though downtown Toronto or watch a live broadcast or webstream as Sgt. Ryan Russell is honoured.
"This is something that we can do for Sgt. Russell," Const. Wendy Drummond said of the massive funeral.
"A lot of heart has gone into it."
Russell, 35, a married father of a two-year-old son, was killed last Wednesday as he tried to stop a stolen snowplow that had led police on a wild chase through city streets.
A 44-year-old drifter, Richard Kachkar, who was shot and seriously injured by police when arrested, faces first-degree murder charges and was expected in court Friday for a bail hearing.
The focus of Tuesday's ceremony will be at the city's downtown convention centre, where workers spent Monday arranging 10,000 chairs, setting up a stage and four huge projections screens.
"All the preparations have been done in consideration with the family," Drummond said.
Christine Russell, the officer's widow, was expected to be among those speaking in tribute to her husband.
Russell's death -- the first in the line of duty for a Toronto officer since 2002 -- prompted an outpouring of public support.
For the past two days, hundreds of people braved biting cold to line up outside a funeral home in Thornhill, Ont., to pay their respects.
"It is the ultimate sacrifice," Armand La Barge, the former police chief for York region, said outside the funeral home Monday.
"The support from the community has obviously been overwhelming as we've seen here from the brother and sister officers and from the community at large."
Bruce Cotton, a neighbour of Russell's parents, said he watched Russell grow up into a "fabulous person."
"No words can describe the loss they've suffered," Cotton said as he came to pay his respects.
"Our hearts go out to both the extended families."
Untold others have signed a condolence book at police headquarters or otherwise expressed sympathies on various online sites.
About 2,000 seats were being set aside in the cavernous hall for members of the public who want to attend the service.
For those unable to attend, media crews were being given access to allow for a live telecast.
"The public's support for the (police) service has been incredible," said Drummond.
"We want to be able to provide them (the chance to) be there even if they can't be physically in the room."
While police and emergency responder deaths are relatively rare in Canada, huge public funerals inevitably follow.
In March 2005, the prime minister and governor general attended a nationally televised memorial service in Edmonton for four gunned down Mounties.
In Windsor, Ont., thousands of police and citizens lined the streets to pay tribute to Const. John Atkinson, who was gunned down in May 2006 after approaching two drug suspects.
"It affected my police agency to this very moment and does every day we come to work," Jerome Brannagan, deputy chief operations for the Windsor police, said as he paid his respects at the visitation.
A busload of Windsor officers will arrive Tuesday for Russell's funeral, he said.
Sociologists say such funerals -- like those for fallen soldiers -- serve as a reminder that police serve a larger social function of keeping peace and order.
Paul Brienza, a professor of sociology and criminology at York University, said the funerals can also distract public attention from some of the more negative aspects policing can bring.
"They're ways for police to legitimate their own existence and remind everybody what they do," Brienza said.
"In a time when we might be questioning police functions and what they're actually doing -- in light of things like the G20 -- it's nice for the police services to have this kind of spectacle to show that they're still putting their lives on the line, that they're still doing their job."
Dignitaries on hand for Russell's service are expected to include Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and former provincial police commissioner Julian Fantino, now a junior cabinet minister under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Last March, thousands of uniformed officers marched down the main street in Wingham, Ont., to pay respects to provincial police Const. Vu Pham, who was shot dead by a motorist.
Pham's wife Heather -- who attended the visitation in Thornhill on Monday -- said the huge funeral was comforting and made her feel "part of such a large family."
Provincial transit system GO Transit said it would allow all emergency services personnel in uniform, or with identification, to travel to and from Russell's service for free.
-- with files from Allison Jones in Thornhill, Ont.
