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National Treasure To Appear At Fallen Officer's Funeral

DENVER (CBS4) - Hundreds of people are expected to attend the Tuesday funeral services for the Limon police officer killed in the line of duty.

Officer Jay Sheridan was shot Wednesday night at a mobile home park. He had been trying to serve a warrant to Dennis Hasty, a sex offender from Tennessee. Hasty apparently killed himself during a 4-hour standoff with police.

A national treasure has been flown in to Colorado to honor Sheridan and his sacrifice. American Airlines Flight 1241 arrived at Denver International Airport on Monday. It was greeted with full honors. There was a water cannon salute by the Denver Fire Department and the State Patrol Color Guard was on hand.

The plane carries a national symbol -- the American flag. The flag has one duty -- it travels across the country and presides at the funerals of fallen heroes.

"It's a special flag; it's a special symbol of our country and the job that we do," Cpt. Mike Denton with the Denver Fire Department said.

After more than 1,000 funerals the flag made its first trip to Colorado for Sheridan.

"Even the most routing call can turn violent in a moment," Scott W. Houghton with Denver police said. "We never know who we're contacting or what we're going into, but we do it no matter what."

The flag belongs to the Honor Network and started traveling in 2001 when the country experienced the largest loss of life to law enforcement and firefighters in a single day. It was flown over Ground Zero for several days after the Sept. 11 attacks. Since then it's come to honor the ultimate sacrifice made by police officers, firefighters and military personnel.

Now the national treasure is a symbol of freedom and honor. It serves as a reminder of those lost protecting their country and community.

Sheridan's funeral will take place at 11 a.m. at Limon High School. It's open to the public. The funeral will then be followed by a graveside service.

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