Peoria officer laid to rest after fatal motorcycle crash

Family, friends and coworkers are laying a longtime Peoria police officer to rest following a fatal motorcycle crash.

The funeral for Officer Jason Willard Judd began 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 14 at Christ's Church of the Valley in Peoria.

Honors for the 21-year veteran of the Peoria Police Department were held on a grass area outside of the church.

Air Force jets flew over the church as part of the honors ceremony and helmeted fellow motorcycle officers were among those who paused at Mr. Judd's casket to pay their respects.

Mr. Judd is survived by his wife Teresa Judd and sons Connor and Terry.

Mr. Judd died in a single motorcycle crash outside of Liberty High School July 1 after a demonstration as part of the Peoria Police Department's Youth Citizen Police Academy. Police said the students had already gone inside one of the buildings prior to the crash, which remains under investigation.

The 52-year-old Judd was a veteran and served 11 years and nine months in the United States Air Force before joining the Peoria Police Department in July 1999, according to a release from Peoria police Officer Brandon Sheffert.

Throughout his service with the department, Mr. Judd received the Lifesaving Medal and over 50 commendations from citizens, fellow officers, other agencies, and community leaders.

One Commendation letter from April 2015 praised his actions, stating, in part, “He was constantly looking for ways to help.” This sentence serves as the hallmark for all of Mr. Judd’s Commendations, police stated.

Mr. Judd was highly involved in community outreach programs that taught safety and encouraged youth participation in civic duty. Throughout his career he was involved in events like the annual Peoria Bike Rodeo, the Youth Citizen Police Academy, multi-agency DUI enforcement campaigns, school safety presentations and the 4th of July celebrations at Lake Pleasant.

Police said Mr. Judd received numerous Commendations for excellent investigative police work, contributing to the arrests and convictions for crimes such as burglary, carjacking, DUI accidents, fraud, stabbing and second-degree murder.

"Officer Judd was also a valuable asset to the operations of the department and received administrative Commendations for his work on Technology and document upgrades, and serving on the Business Practices Committee," police stated. "Officer Judd was an integral part of Peoria’s police department."

Watch the funeral service below: