By Chris Caraveo
Twitter: @ChrisCaraveo31

El Mirage police officer Paul Lazinsky was known to call just about everyone he came into contact with “buddy.”

A church-full of “buddies” convened last Thursday morning for the funeral service of Mr. Lazinsky, who collapsed and died after chasing a juvenile outside the Food City in El Mirage Dec. 12.

The funeral service was at Radiant Church in Surprise on Dec. 21.

Mr. Lazinsky, 58, was set to retire in about 10 months after 17 years with El Mirage, and 23 years with the U.S. Army.

He’s survived by his wife and three children, his mother, two siblings and four grandchildren.

Mr. Lazinsky’s time with El Mirage included stints as a patrolman, a SWAT operator, an HOA and school liaison, and a representative with the El Mirage Police Officers Association.

At the service, Mayor Lana Mook recalled being pulled over by Mr. Lazinsky while she was moving into a home in Rancho El Mirage. She had apparently ran a stop sign. She told Mr. Lazinsky she would accept and pay the ticket, however, Mr. Lazinsky said she would remember a much better experience with the police department by receiving a verbal warning rather than a ticket.

Ms. Mook called Mr. Lazinsky an exceptional man.

El Mirage Police Chief Terry McDonald recalled Mr. Lazinsky being one of the first people he met when he joined the department as its chief in November 2011.

Mr. Lazinsky introduced himself to Chief McDonald, saying the department needed more “old farts around here.”

Also, Chief McDonald said it meant a lot to him that Mr. Lazinsky would tell his mother about Chief McDonald.

One night Mr. Lazinsky responded to a barricade situation at a house that had previously been investigated for a homicide, Chief McDonald recalled. He remembered Mr. Lazinsky acting like the Army veteran he was, providing rifle coverage in front of the house.

“By the way he handled himself and stood, you knew he was from the Army,” Chief McDonald said, adding that Mr. Lazinsky would drop everything he was doing and take care of anything that required help. “In the middle of the night, if you ran short and you needed someone to get out of bed and put on their uniform and go to work, Paul would do it.”

El Mirage Fire Department Interim Chief Chris Richardson did not shed back tears as he spoke about Mr. Lazinsky, whom Mr. Richardson credits as being one of the officers to build the strong bond the police and fire departments have forged over the years.

“While we’ve grown up working in El Mirage together over the last 17 years I’d like to thank all of you to not only help celebrate Paul but to help comfort everyone who cares about him. He’d probably tell you, thanks a lot buddy,” Mr. Richardson said. “That describes Paul in a nutshell. Anyone can be his buddy.”

Officer Rick Chairez, who worked alongside Mr. Lazinsky on patrol, said El Mirage benefited from Mr. Lazinsky’s professionalism, integrity and compassion.

“I went on thousands of service calls with Paul over the years. There were never complaints with Paul,” Mr. Chairez said. “There was a reason. He went above and beyond to treat everyone with respect and a great deal of compassion.”

Mr. Lazinsky will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, where a special ceremony will take place.