Funeral arrangements for Officer Sonny Kim
Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Cintas Center on the Xavier University Campus, 1624 Herald Ave.
Parking is available in the top lot off of Cleneay Avenue.
At 7 p.m. the FOP will hold a private service for police officers and the general public will be asked to leave.
Funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the Cintas Center. Doors open at 9 a.m. and attendees should be inside and seated by 10 a.m. The service will start at 11 a.m.
After the funeral service, there will be a motorcade processional along Montgomery Road from Cleneay to the Gates of Heaven Cemetery, 11000 Montgomery Road. The burial is a private served for family members, invited friends and police officers.
The general public is encouraged to line Montgomery Road from Cleneay to the cemetery.
A Butler County Sheriff’s Office caisson pulled by two horses trained by a Liberty Twp. farmer will carry fallen Cincinnati Police Officer Sonny Kim to his final resting place on Friday.
A caisson is a two-wheeled cart that was designed to carry artillery ammunition during the Civil War, but is also used to bear the casket of the deceased in some state and military funerals. Butler County’s caisson, paid for through donations, was built by a Lexington, Ky.-area company that makes the units for historical re-enactments and was first used in 2000.
“It is the honorable way to bury soliders and police officers,” Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones said.
Through the years, the caisson has been used in area funerals about 12 times, including the 2011 funeral of Warren County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Dulle and the 2008 funeral of Army Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin in Clermont County.
A group of 11 volunteers, a mix of active and retired sheriff’s deputies, walk alongside the caisson during funeral processions and have been training for Officer Kim’s services along with Cincinnati officers.
“As soon as we heard the Cincinnati officer was killed, we began preparing the caisson,” Jones said.
Pulling the caisson will be two Belgian draft horses from the Liberty Twp. farm of Morris Van Gorden. The 18-year-old pair, named Sally and Slim, are well suited for the assignment, according to their owners.
“They are very calm and well trained,” said Tim Van Gorden, Morris’ son. He said his 87-year-old father will take the reins as he has for all the funerals since about 2002.
Tim Van Gorden said his father never served in the military, but has always had a strong love of farming, horses and his country.
“It is real honor for us to participate in the funeral of the people who protect us,” Tim Van Gorden said.
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