Mourners packed the pews Thursday at Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, Maryland, to pay their respects to Wayne David, a District police officer killed in the line of duty last month.

District Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith joined Mr. David’s family and friends and scores of uniformed law enforcement officers to honor the legacy of the officer, who was killed when a handgun he was retrieving from a sewer accidentally discharged. 

“We can’t measure the people who are still alive because of the guns that Wayne got off the street,” Ms. Bowser said during the service. “We can’t count the moms who still have their sons, or the children who still have their parents, or the friend groups that never went through the trauma and tragedy of losing a close friend.”

Mr. David grew up in the District and lived in the Langdon neighborhood in Northeast.

He joined the force in 1998, following in the law enforcement career footsteps of his older brother. He spent the last 16 years working with the Violent Crime Suppression division to confiscate illegal firearms in the District.

Chief Smith, who is also a minister, referred to the fallen officer as a “hometown hero.”

“There are few undertakings as noble as the protection of your community,” the chief said. “It is defined by the service and attracts those who truly believe, such as Wayne, they can make a difference in our community and in the lives of others.”

On Aug. 28, Mr. David approached a “suspicious” man around 5:40 p.m. on the 4500 block of Quarles Street Northeast.

The man ran when he saw authorities closing in and jumped down onto Interstate 295.

The suspect then threw his gun into a sewer drain, ran across traffic and somehow got onto the back of a passing motorcycle. The biker drove off moments later.

Mr. David was trying to fish the gun out of the drain when it went off, striking him. He was flown to a hospital and was pronounced dead later that night.

Police said last week that they arrested Tyrell Lamonte Bailey, 27, of Northeast, and charged him with illegal gun possession in connection to the discarded weapon.

A funeral procession carried David’s remains from Ebenezer AME Church past the MPD’s special operations division in Northeast, where the veteran officer spent his days when he wasn’t on the street.

David was buried at Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Brentwood, Maryland.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.