Sanger community mourns as an officer killed in Pismo Beach accident is brought home

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It was a hero's welcome in Sanger Wednesday for a beloved policeman who was killed in an accident.

Officer Rodney Jones died in an off-roading accident last Friday in Pismo and people gathered along Jensen avenue as his law enforcement brothers escorted him home.

You could hear the entourage of trucks and Jeeps rumbling across downtown Sanger.

The escort ending with a salute to a man whose watched over the town for several decades.

"We don't know what we'll do without him," Jones' son Blake said mournfully.

Jones was a 20-year veteran of the Sanger Police Department and a familiar face to almost everyone in the community.

An ATV accident on the Central Coast ended his life far too soon.

"Our officers are still trying to understand it, cope with it, a lot of officers are still in a state of disbelief," Sanger Police Chief Silver Rodriguez said.

Officer Jones was an investigator and a volunteer with Fresno County's search-and-rescue team.

He made dozens of drug arrests, but, perhaps, he's was most known for his dedication.

"He loved his job, it's all he talked about," Blake said. "It's what he lived for."

It wasn't just family lining the streets to send him off.

There were strangers and there was his law-enforcement family.

Sgt. Steve Hensen was among the many who drove to San Luis Obispo to bring his friend home.

"I actually trained him when he first started," he said. "He was a great officer and always willing to go and help."

Sanger already felt the void left behind.

He may be gone but his genuine concern for people and no-nonsense attitude will live on within these people.

"It was hit and miss," Blake said. "If you upset him, you got what you deserved, but he was very compassionate."

Officer Rodney's funeral will be held next Thursday at The People's Church in Fresno.