BATON ROUGE, La. — Funeral services have been announced for the two Baton Rouge police officers who were killed in a helicopter crash over the weekend.
Sgt. David Poirrier, 47, and Cpl. Scotty Canezaro, 38, died on Sunday when their Robinson R-44 helicopter crashed in a field in West Baton Rouge Parish.
The two men, both assigned to the department's Air Support Unit, left in a helicopter at 2 a.m. Sunday to help with a pursuit. The helicopter never returned. The wreckage was found several hours later in a sugar cane field.
The helicopter's disappearance went unnoticed for hours, local news outlets reported. The flight and crash occurred during hours when the air traffic control tower at the Baton Rouge airport was unmanned.
The police department said funeral services would be held Thursday, April 6 at Istrouma Baptist Church. Visitation will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and the service will start at 11 a.m.
A motorcade escorted the remains of both officers back to Baton Rouge on Wednesday morning. The remains were taken to BRPD headquarters where they were saluted by the mayor, police chief and fellow officers.
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