WEST ST. PAUL — Thousands of Minnesota law enforcement officers on Wednesday filled the grounds of a West St. Paul church, paying their final respects to a Mendota Heights police officer fatally shot last week during a routine traffic stop.

Friends and relatives delivered tearful eulogies, often struggling to maintain their composure as they said goodbye to officer Scott Patrick.

“Scott impacted many people on the path of life, as evidenced by the outpouring” since his death, said his boss Chief Mike Aschenbrener. He added that Patrick, 47, “knew where he wanted to be and worked hard to get there.”