PORTER RANCH — The bereaved family of Burbank Police Sgt. Neil Thomas Gunn gathered for his service Thursday at Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch.
Friends and family members memorialized the life of the 22-year award-winning department veteran who died last week of a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the chest at the corner of North Sunset Canyon Drive and East Harvard Road.
Some officers served as pallbearers, together flooding the room in a wash of deep blue.
Born Feb. 18, 1959, in Glendale, Gunn married his wife Tina in 1977 and the pair had three children, Lesli, Dawna and Neil.
“To the mighty Burbank Police Department, now is the time for healing. Be united in love, remember why you wanted to become police officers and go protect the wonderful citizens of Burbank,” Tina Gunn wrote in the funeral program.
A special message to a select group of officers, many of whom served an elite detail with her late husband, asked them to be strong and remember, “Aut Pax Aut Bellum” — either peace or war.
Gunn worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad before joining the ranks of the Burbank Police Department as an officer, detective and sergeant.
He was named in a Sept. 14 federal subpoena for the personnel records of 12 officers seeking information related to use-of-force issues and possible civil rights violations.
Affectionately known as “Papa Gunn,” he had six grandchildren, Ruby, Priscilla, Mariah, Layla Sadie and Neil.
— Christopher Cadelago
