June 1 marked the most challenging day in Gila River Police Chief Jesse Crabtree’s 27-year career. It was the day Officer Joshua Briese, a 23-year-old still in field training, lost his life in the line of duty.

It’s a day he and Briese’s loved ones won’t soon forget.

“It felt like a punch in the gut that brought us to our knees. It felt like I was at the bottom of some deep canyon, narrow canyon. So dark. So lonely. And all you can see are the dark, tall shadows,” Crabtree said. “It’s hard to explain to others.”

But Crabtree wasn’t alone. Hundreds of people crowded into the Sun Valley Community Church auditorium on Saturday morning for Briese’s memorial service.

They filled every available seat, lined up along the walls and overflowed into the main lobby to honor a man of “unimaginable strength, with character beyond question and with a spirit of service that is all too rare today,” according to Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis.

Briese was killed and another officer injured after responding to a disturbance at a home early June 1 in Santan, District 4, of the Gila River Indian Community. Briese had been with the department for less than a year.

The disturbance involved a large crowd, and multiple gunshots were fired. Alicen Apkaw, 23, also died from gunfire, and three other people were injured. Two suspects were arrested in the shootings.

‘Josh was a warrior, a hero and a friend’

Officer Trey Giuffre, who met Briese while attending the police academy last year, said his friend was “outgoing and unbreakable.”

“Nothing bothered him. On our worst days in the academy, we’d be all beaten down and stressed out, and he’d just laugh,” Guiffre said. “He had such a signature laugh.”

His positive mindset was forged through hardship. At just 6 years old, Briese lost his father, Officer David Briese, in an automobile accident in the line of duty in Billings, Montana.

Captain Kent O’Donnell, who worked with his father at the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, watched Joshua Briese grow up and determine from a young age that he’d follow in his father’s footsteps as a police officer.

For years he’d wanted to take Briese to Washington, D.C., during police weekend to see his father’s name etched into a wall remembering fallen officers.

He regrets that they never found the time. Next time he searches for his old friend’s name in Washington, he’ll also find his son’s.

“Josh was a warrior, a hero and a friend,” O’Donnell said. “With that, he’s chosen his legacy. What he will be remembered for is the incident last Saturday and the actions he took that probably saved other lives and prevented further injury to citizens.”

After the service, the crowd, dressed in black, gathered in the parking lot under the Arizona sun to watch as Briese’s fellow officers honored him with a gun salute and escorted his casket out of sight. It will be delivered to its final resting place in Briese’s hometown of Billings.

Those he leaves behind said they’ll carry with them the unbreakable positivity for which their friend was known.

“We’re all suffering and in pain for officer Briese,” Crabtree said. “But as we climb our way out of this canyon, those tall, dark shadows will get smaller, and we’ll be able to see more and more of the sunlight … It won’t feel as lonely anymore.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Joshua Briese, slain Gila River officer, remembered at service