Funeral for Metro officer who died on Christmas Day draws hundreds
Law enforcement from across Southern Nevada packed into a tent Wednesday in Boulder City to support the family of a Las Vegas police officer who died on Christmas Day.
Metropolitan Police Department officer Briar Huff died Dec. 25 while in Mexico with her husband, Boulder City police officer Todd Huff. She was 37. It remains unclear how she died.
The fallen officer was honored Wednesday with a procession of police cars and firetrucks from Boulder City Family Mortuary to Boulder Creek Golf Course, where a public funeral drew several hundred people.
“Over this past week I’ve had several people tell me how she helped them stand up for themselves and how amazing they could be,” Huff’s brother, Dustin Osborne said through tears. “She helped instill confidence in others.”
Huff grew up in east Las Vegas before her family moved to Boulder City when she was a teenager. After finishing school, she tended bar fora time at Carmine’s Little Italy in Henderson, where she met police officers from all over the valley who encouraged her to become a police officer, Osborne said. She worked as a Boulder City marshal before applying to Metro’s academy.
Huff worked for Metro for five years, beginning in February 2016, as an officer in northeast and Summerlin area commands. Osborne said his sister’s life changed the day she gave birth to her son, Range Lopez, in July 2010.
“He became her everything and her main life focus,” Osborne said, turning to the boy. “Range, I know your mom loves you. She will always be with you. She will always be a part of your life.”
Range, 11, spoke through tears about his mother, describing her as a dog lover, an adventurer and the strongest person he ever met.
“My mom was a person who always had to act tough,” he said. “She was the strongest person probably every single person in here knew.”
Todd Huff remembered the things that made his wife laugh, the way she liked to raise her glass for a toast and her pride in working for Metro.
“I’m so eternally thankful for the time that I had with her,” he said. “She would always say our crazies matched.”
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
