ALFRED — It was a training exercise to prepare for a situation everyone involved hopes will never happen: A funeral service for a law enforcement officer’s line-of-duty death.

But such events do happen, as evidenced by the April 2012 death of Greenland, N.H. Police Chief Michael Maloney, who died after being shot by a drug dealer. Law enforcement officers are also called upon to help conduct services for active and retired officers who die of natural causes, such as the death from cancer in November of York County Chief Deputy Mat Baker, also a former Kennebunk Police chief.

And while the marching, handling of the casket and flag-folding may look easy, it requires training and discipline, and so after a day of classroom instruction on Monday, officers from 10 agencies, from Machias to York, conducted a mock funeral service Tuesday afternoon at Alfred Parish Church.

Kennebunk Police Lt. Anthony Bean Burpee, a member of his agency’s honor guard, which was established during Baker’s tenure as police chief, said the training encompasses everything from notifying family members when the death is in the line of duty, to the logistics of hosting a large service that is typically attended by law enforcement from many agencies. It also includes how the honor guard performs during the service itself.

It’s paying respect to the officer who died and to the family that remains, said Bean Burpee.

“The first and last impression the majority of people see of any department is at a funeral,” said Rob Simmons, a South Portland firefighter who conducts training for public service agencies all over Maine. His wife, Susan, and daughters Piper, 6, and Allison, 2, portrayed the bereaved family and received the folded flag at the graveside.

“I could be in that seat,” said Susan Simmons. “That’s the scary part. Any spouse of a public safety official could be.”

Ryan Allen was among four officers who drove down from Washington County Sheriff’s Office to attend the training session. He said the law enforcement community in Maine’s easternmost community is small and close-knit.

“The tough part is that it really could be someone you know,” he said of a line-of-duty death. He said Shawn Donohue, who was appointed chief deputy in January, wanted to establish an honor guard, and Allen was among those who signed on.

The mock service began outside, with officers flanking both sides of the driveway, standing at attention as other officers carefully and solemnly removed the casket from the hearse and carried it into the church.

Following a brief service, where Simmons explained the training, those assembled moved to the adjacent churchyard, where taps was played, the flag was folded and presented to the stand-in family, and a piper sounded “Amazing Grace.”

The training session was organized by York County Sheriff’s Office. Officers from rural patrol and York County Jail, along with their counterparts in Androscoggin, Washington and Lincoln counties attended, along with the Kennebunk, York, Topsham, Falmouth and Winslow police departments.

Simmons said it is important for officers to perform the service well, to impart professionalism and respect.

He thanked Black Funeral Homes of Sanford for its participation.

Justin Lipsky, a corrections officer at York County Jail, recently signed on as part of the newly formed jail honor guard; the rural patrol division formed an honor guard some years ago.

Even though it wasn’t real, “the whole service sent chills down my spine,” said Lipsky, adding that he quickly signed on to become an honor guard member when he saw the notice go up for interested corrections staff.

“It’s so professional.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, Ext. 327 or [email protected].