A procession of Huntington Beach police cruisers and officers on motorcycles escorted the body of Officer Nicholas Vella, a pilot who died Saturday when his helicopter plunged into Newport Harbor, from the Orange County coroner’s office to a mortuary in La Habra Tuesday afternoon.
A brief, cold downpour soaked several hundred mourners — including Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, District Attorney Todd Spitzer, and dozens of officers from police departments countywide — who lined up along Shelton Street just outside the coroner’s office to pay their respects at around 1 p.m.
A piper leads a procession for Huntington Beach Police Officer Nicholas Vella in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died Saturday when his helicopter plunged into Newport Harbor. The procession was from the Orange County coroner’s office to Community Funeral Service in La Habra. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Members of area law enforcement salute outside of the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves enroute to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Fire personnel salute during a procession for Huntington Beach Police Officer Nicholas Vella in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died Saturday when his helicopter plunged into Newport Harbor. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
La Habra police personnel salute during a procession for Huntington Beach Police Officer Nicholas Vella in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died Saturday when his helicopter plunged into Newport Harbor. The procession was from the Orange County coroner’s office to Community Funeral Service in La Habra. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Family members speak about Huntington Beach Police Department Officer Nicholas Vella following a procession from the Orange County coroner’s office to Community Funeral Service in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died Saturday when his helicopter plunged into Newport Harbor. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People embrace as hundreds of members of area law enforcement stand along the street outside of the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, just prior to the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves enroute to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Members of area law enforcement stand with their hands over their hearts outside of the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves enroute to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A decal for Huntington Beach Police Officer Nicholas Vella is displayed on a Huntington Beach fire truck during a procession in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died Saturday when his helicopter plunged into Newport Harbor. The procession carried his casket from the Orange County coroner’s office to Community Funeral Service in La Habra. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Members of the Huntington Beach police carry the casket of Officer Nicholas Vella during a procession from the Orange County coroner’s office to Community Funeral Service in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died Saturday when his helicopter plunged into Newport Harbor. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A law enforcement vehicle travels in the procession from the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves enroute to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Members of the Huntington Beach Police Department stand with their hands over their hearts outside of the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves enroute to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, center, stands with his hand over his heart outside of the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves enroute to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People embrace as hundreds of members of area law enforcement stand along the street outside of the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, just prior to the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves enroute to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A bagpiper leads a procession as hundreds of members of area law enforcement stand along the street outside of the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves enroute to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People embrace as hundreds of members of area law enforcement stand along the street outside of the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, just prior to the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves enroute to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Family members of Huntington Beach police Officer Nicholas Vella embrace during a procession from the Orange County coroner’s office to Community Funeral Service in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died Saturday when his helicopter plunged into Newport Harbor. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Members of area law enforcement salute outside of the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves enroute to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
After Vella’s family came out of the office, several openly weeping, a bagpipe player escorted their cars down the street as the sun came out.
The procession headed north up the 57 Freeway toward Community Funeral Service on Beach Boulevard in La Habra.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” said Ann Flores, a local resident who stood in the neighborhood just to the west of the coroner’s office to watch the proceedings.
Vella died Saturday when his helicopter crashed into the waters just off the southern tip of the Lido Peninsula in Newport Harbor.
He and another officer inside the department’s McDonnell Douglas 500N helicopter were in the air for about a half-hour before they got the call to head to the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach for a report of a fight.
Just minutes after they got to the area and hovered over Balboa Boulevard, their helicopter descended rapidly into the harbor.
A National Transportation Safety Board investigator said Sunday that one of them reported mechanical issues just before the crash.
An official cause of the crash, however, has not been released yet. The NTSB investigation into the crash could take anywhere from a year to 18 months, officials said.
Steven Booth stood on a nearby corner as the procession was getting ready to leave. Next to him was Henry, a calm and friendly golden retriever with reddish fur, laying on the sidewalk at his feet.
Henry, a crisis comfort K9 for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, was wearing his forest green vest with his name embroidered on it. Henry and Booth, his handler and a retired Sheriff’s Department employee, have been to numerous scenes of trauma affecting local police departments.
“Our job is just to bring a little bit of comfort to people during a difficult time — that can mean listening to them, or catching a few tears,” Booth said as a group of deputies petted Henry.
Vella’s death was hitting Huntington Beach police especially hard. Highly specialized units like air services are known for fostering a deep sense of community among their members.
“They’re a very tight group,” Booth said.
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