The first female police officer ever to die in the line of duty in Iowa was remembered during a Wednesday morning service in West Des Moines, with thousands of mourners on hand.

Officer Susan Farrell (and fellow officer Carlos Puente-Morales whose funeral is Friday) was killed in the early morning hours last Saturday when the Des Moines Police SUV she was in was hit head-on by a vehicle going the wrong way on Interstate 80 near Waukee. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, Susan and Carlos are the 21st and 22nd members of the Des Moines Police Department killed in the line of duty, and the first since 2008.
In Cedar Rapids, six officers have died in the line of duty, the last in 1984.

More than 1,000 police officers, and their squad cars from all over the state and around the nation, were part of a crowd exceeding 5,000 that attended the funeral and procession to Farrell's final resting place at Highland Memory Gardens in Des Moines. During the funeral, her shaken friends and fellow officers spoke of her with heartfelt remembrances.

Susan leaves behind her husband, Jesse Farrell and daughter, Ryleigh. She is also survived by her mother, father, and siblings (Chris, Cassie, Jeff, and step-brother John). According to her obituary, published by WHO-TV, "Susan was living out her lifelong dream and was truly proud of being a police officer." Susan Farrell was just 30.

More From 104-5 KDAT