When a Beloved Cop Died, Locals Decided to Honor Him by Walking His Beat. Then They Got a Huge Surprise When They Saw How Many People Showed Up.

How do you know a cop has really bonded with his community?

When, after he dies, nearly his entire town turns out to walk his beat.

On The Moor at the start of a procession in celebration and memory of PC Andy Hocking. @BBCCornwall pic.twitter.com/TJOJaVEzl9

— Naomi Kennedy (@CornishKennedy) March 14, 2015

Citizens turned out by the thousands on Saturday to mourn the passing of Andy Hocking, a local constable in the English town of Falmouth.

Hocking died unexpectedly on March 8 after collapsing while off-duty, the BBC reported. He is survived by his wife, Sally, and two daughters, Megan and Grace.

Organizers anticipated 2,000 people might show up for the commemoration, but their estimates were blown away when more than 6,000 souls turned out, the BBC reported.

With Falmouth having a population of around 23,000, the turnout means more than one-quarter of Falmouth's citizens came out to mourn their fallen cop.

Local Hugh Hastings summed up much of the community's feelings towards Hocking when he told the Falmouth Packet:

He was always a fantastic person. He represented Falmouth in such a superb way. Wonderful at his job. Always had a smile for everybody but he could do his job well at the same time. He kept control in the most wonderful way. And he’s an irreplaceable icon. We’ll all miss him.

Videos from the scene showed the massive crowds and the thunderous applause that greeted the mention of Hocking.

Hailing Hocking as a model for community policing, citizens on Saturday recalled his warm presence and friendly, amiable demeanor, the Packet noted.

Organizers asked that people on the memorial march "take time to talk to someone you don't know, as Andy would do so well, and share a smile, as Andy always did."

—

Follow Zach Noble (@thezachnoble) on Twitter