Atlanta Police Officers Richard Halford and Shawn Smiley were helping to search for a missing boy when their chopper went down.
ATLANTA -- Thursday night, friends and family gathered to say goodbye to an Atlanta police officer who died when his helicopter crashed last weekend.
A visitation for Officer Richard Halford got underway at 5 p.m. at Jackson Memorial Baptist church in Northwest Atlanta.
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Officer Halford was flying with Officer Shawn Smiley Saturday night, searching for missing boy, when their helicopter went down near MLK and Hamilton E. Holmes.
Both officers died in the crash.
Officer Halford's funeral will take place Friday morning, while Officer Smiley's service is set for Saturday.