ST. LOUIS — Hundreds of people came out to honor fallen St. Louis County police detective Antonio Valentine during a celebration of life on Friday.
Valentine, 42, died after a head-on crash involving a stolen car in north St. Louis County last week. Police said the stolen car was speeding away after drug detectives tried to stop the vehicle nearby.
Valentine was driving an unmarked police car toward the area when the stolen car crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed into Valentine head-on. The driver of the stolen car also died in the crash.
A celebration of life Mass was held Friday morning at Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. A visitation was held for Valentine Thursday at Layne Renaissance Chapel.
A livestream of the funeral service was made available by loved ones and the police department. You can watch in the video below.
Valentine's flag-draped casket arrived outside of the Cathedral Basilica shortly after 9 a.m. Pallbearers carried it inside as bagpipes played and hundreds of officers lined up, saluting the fallen detective.
Speakers included Valentine's sister Nia and uncle Scott, Beaumont High School classmate Rev. Bernard Keely, St. Louis County Police Chief Kenneth Gregory, St. Louis County Police Detective Columbus Love and the police department's chaplain. A detective in the St. Louis city police department sang "If you can see me now."
Chief Gregory talked about how Valentine was a good man and a hero to many.
“Let our memories of Antonio not be one of sadness and sorrow, but one of celebration. Tony lived a good life and he’s now peacefully at home,” Gregory said.
When Valentine's uncle Scott took the podium, he was overcome with emotions while talking about his earliest memories of his nephew. He talked about how important family was to Valentine.
“All he ever wanted to do was take care of his mother and his siblings. However he had to do it, he wanted to make sure his siblings were taken care of,” he said. “When there was no food to eat, he would sacrifice that to make sure that they had something.”
Scott went on to tell Valentine's children that he would be there for them in their father’s absence.
“Your dad is gone, but he lives on in me,” he said.
Following the celebration of life, a procession traveled to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery for military honors and burial.
Police encouraged the public to line the route to pay their respects to detective Valentine. A group of people, including police officers and firefighters, gathered on the J.J. Kelley overpass to honor Valentine as the procession went by.
Procession route:
- The procession will leave the Cathedral Basilica and travel West on Lindell Boulevard to Kingshighway Boulevard
- Left on Kingshighway Boulevard and continue to Interstate 64/40
- West on Interstate 64/40 to south on Interstate 270 (changes to Interstate 255 at Interstate 55)
- Exit and make a left at Telegraph Road
- Right turn onto Sheridan Road and the procession will travel to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Law enforcement and family gathered at the burial site at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. They gave the last radio call for Valentine. Listen to the call in the video below.
Friends of Valentine said whether it was on the job or on the field with his flag football team, he was an all-around special guy.
"He had a big heart. He was always willing to help anyone that he could help. He touched so many lives," said Jherissa Baker.
Coach Stephen Russell said Valentine was a humble player turned defensive coordinator, board member and mentor.
"He was a man of integrity. He was a man of courage and he spoke his mind. He did so many things behind the scenes for our team and our players, people in our league, that no one knows about," said Russell.
Valentine had been with the St. Louis County Police Department since 2007. He was an Army combat veteran who served in Iraq and recently retired from the Air Force Reserves.
How to support the family
Valentine was a father of four children ranging in age from 10 to 22 years old.
If you’d like to send flowers to the family, plant a tree in memory of Valentine or leave condolences for the family, click here.
The BackStoppers gave $10,000 to Valentine's family to be used for anything they may need, and the organization will continue to support them. If you’d like to make a donation to The BackStoppers to help his family, click here.
The St. Louis County Police Department has set up a public memorial at the Central County Precinct at 1333 Ashby Road. At the memorial, the public can leave flowers or other tokens of honor for the fallen detective.
