Police officers and K-9 units from throughout Hudson Valley and from as far away as Connecticut were in Carmel Tuesday to honor a fallen comrade.

About 100 K-9 officers and their dogs formed an honor guard as 38-year-old Darrell Burris' body was brought to Saint James Church for his funeral. Burris was Cold Spring's officer in charge, the department's only full-time officer. He and his black lab, Duncan, made up the department's K-9 unit.

Burris was killed Thursday night when his SUV collided head-on with another car on Drewville Road. Before joining the Cold Spring Police Department full time, Burris worked as a communications specialist and dispatcher for the New York State Police Department in Somers. Troopers who worked with him remember Burris as a gentle giant who could handle any situation that came along.

In a eulogy, Cold Spring Police Officer Robert Russell said his friend was passionate about police work. Russell also told the standing-room-only crowd in the church that they should share the gift of life. He said Darrell Burris would have wanted it that way.

Throughout the funeral, Burris' K-9 partner Duncan waited patiently under the care of fellow officers. Darrell Burris leaves behind his wife and 14-year-old son.