May 18, 2013
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (AP) -- Hundreds of citizens and police officers attended the funeral for a Cleveland city officer killed in a car crash.
Officer Justin Maples died Sunday night when his patrol car struck a utility pole. The 34-year-old Maples was responding to a call from a Bradley County Sheriff's deputy who was pursuing a car theft suspect.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported Maples' wife, Danielle, covered her face with her hand on Thursday as her 5-year-old son Jace, reached out to touch his father's casket on a horse-drawn caisson. The couple has three sons.
According to the Cleveland Daily Banner (http://bit.ly/KfWiLI ), the caisson was provided by the North Carolina Highway Patrol and the North Carolina Troopers Association.
The chase suspect was caught, but isn't likely to face charges in Maples' death.
