Schedule for the funeral of Officer Mazurkiewicz

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — The funeral for fallen Rochester police officer Tony Mazurkiewicz will be held on Monday at the Blue Cross Arena. The service starts at 12 p.m. is only for first responders and their families.

You can watch News10NBC’s live coverage here starting at 11 a.m.

Officer Mazurkiewicz will be buried at White Haven Memorial Park. The family is asking people to donate to the Rochester police union Locust Club in lieu of flowers.

Father Donald Wollschlegger, the patrol chaplin for the RPD, will conduct the opening prayers. After the opening prayers will be the eulogies. According to the program, 11 people are scheduled to speak. The first four speakers include Mazurkiewicz’s sons and daughters. His brother-in-law will be the last member of the family members to speak.

Other speakers will include a family friend and neighbor, RPD Chief David Smith, Locust Club president Mike Mazzeo, and three members of the Rochester police tactical unit. Father Edward Palumbos will finish the eulogies with a closing prayer.

Calling hours were on Sunday at the Richard H. Keenan Funeral Home in Egypt. As the procession left the funeral home and went through Perinton, the hometown of Mazurkiewicz, community members lit the town with blue lights on their phones. The procession ended at the Public Saftey Building, where Mazurkiewicz’s casket was laid.

At 11:15 a.m. on Monday, Mazurkiewicz’s body will be taken to the Blue Cross Arena for the service. There will also be an outdoor service on Broad Street where Mazurkiewicz’s family will receive a flag to honor his sacrifice. He will be buried at White Haven Cemetery in Pittsford.

It has been more than a week since two RPD officers, Mazurkiewicz and Sino Seng, and a 15-year-old girl were shot in an ambush. Seng and the 15-year-old are recovering from their injuries. Mazurkiewicz, a 29-year veteran of the RPD, died at Strong Hospital of his injuries.

Mazurkiewicz, who was 54, served the RPD for 29 years. He leaves behind four children, three grandchildren, and his life Lynn. According to his obituary, Mazurkiewicz loved to cook and go to his childrens’ and grandchildrens’ sports games. He enjoyed sitting around his backyard bonfire, telling jokes, and watching the grandkids run around the yard.

"Tony will be remembered as a witty jokester who could make anyone laugh. To his family, he will always be the absolute best man that ever existed," said the obituary.

Mazurkeiwicz was born in Amsterdam, NY and graduated from SUNY Brockport. He then went on to work for the Monroe County Sheriff’s department before starting at the RPD in 1993.

Fellow officers have shared tributes to Mazurkiewicz. Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter said he knew Mazurkiewicz and said he’s proud of the ways the community has honored the fallen officer.

"We spent many years together in the tactical unit of the city Police department. It was an honor to work with him," Baxter said.

RPD Lt. Greg Bello said Mazurkiewicz was a role model.

“Officer Mazurkiewicz lost his life protecting the community so to get a response back is great to see and really heartwarming," Bello said. "Officer Mazurkiewicz is that role model, he’s one of my role models. I just worked an assignment with him about a month ago and the thoughtfulness that he put into the work we were going to do, to do something dangerous, the thought and questions he asked to make sure that we were doing things thoroughly and safely, that was what he did.”

In order to accommodate the Funeral Service for Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz, the following Downtown streets will be closed to traffic on Monday, August 1 starting at 8 a.m.:

• Broad Street from South Avenue to S. Fitzhugh Street
• Court Street from South Avenue to Exchange Boulevard
• Exchange Boulevard from Main Street to S. Fitzhugh Street
• South Avenue from Main Street to Broad Street