The Latest: Slain Missouri officer remembered as dedicated

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The Latest on the funeral for a slain Missouri police officer (all times local):

1:15 p.m.

Hundreds of officers have given a final salute to a slain Missouri police officer as his children remembered him as caring and dedicated.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the funeral for North County Police Cooperative Officer Michael Langsdorf filled the 1,750-occupany Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis to capacity Monday. His 18-year-old son, Kaleb Langsdorf, told the crowd that his father taught him that “a life of rescuing, defending and serving is the only life worth living.”

On the 7-mile (11.26 kilometer) route to the cemetery, the funeral procession passed supporters holding American flags and signs.

The 40-year-old officer was fatally shot June 23 while answering a bad check call at a market in the St. Louis County town of Wellston. A suspect has been charged with first-degree murder.

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8:07 a.m.

The family of a man charged in the shooting death of a Missouri police officer has apologized to the officer’s family.

In a statement, relatives of 26-year-old Bonette Kymbrelle Meeks offered their “deepest sympathy” to the family of North County Police Cooperative Officer Michael Langsdorf. Meeks is jailed without bond on charges of first-degree murder and three other felonies.

His father, Bonette Meeks Sr., told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the family is “devastated” and wishes it could “take back that day.” The 40-year-old officer was fatally shot June 23 while answering a call about a bad check at a market in the St. Louis County town of Wellston.

Langsdorf’s funeral is at 10 a.m. Monday at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, followed by burial at Resurrection Cemetery.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com