"I received a call at 12:20 Tuesday morning," says Jackson Police Chief Matt Heins. "It's a call no police chief wants to receive. That phone call changed my life, officers' lives and Jim's family's life forever."

Heins stands up Friday in front of hundreds and hundreds of people to honor fallen officer, 26-year-old Jim Bonneau. Bonneau died Tuesday in the line of fire. It's something Heins-- and the entire department-- is having trouble dealing with.

"As I picked up my two-year-old son out of his crib yesterday moring, I thought about Jim and I felt a sliver of understanding how it must feel as a parent to deal with the grief and the loss of a child," Heins says.

Bonneau will be remembered, Heins says, as quiet but friendly, and always professional.

There were laughs, too, as they recalled some of his rookie mistakes driving cruisers.

"After he jumped out of one but forgot to put it in park, and crashed another brand new cruisers, costing $6,000 in damage," Heins says.

Nearly 1,000 officers showed up to pay their respects, coming from as far as Chicago and Manistee.

Officer Larry Jacobson tells the mourners one thing police do after every shift is call up patrol and sign off for the night.

"I don't believe Jim had an opportunity to do that Monday night," Jacobson says. "I'm going to do it for him now. 'Central dispatch, this is Charlie 1. Charlie 1, Officer Jim Bonneau, badge number 042. Shift is over and he's gone home. We have the watch. Officer Jim Bonneau will be secure."