Hundreds mourn Arlington police officer remembered for loyalty, love of motorcycles

GRAND PRAIRIE — Even as hundreds filtered into the sprawling Crossroads Christian Church, a quiet fell outside, broken only by the wail of bagpipes.

Hundreds of uniformed officers joined city leaders and community members Wednesday morning to honor Arlington police Officer Darrin McMichael, who was killed a week ago in a hit-and-run crash in Dallas while riding his motorcycle to work.

At the front of the church, a photograph of McMichael, 51, appeared on a large screen: perched atop his police motorcycle, helmet in lap, smiling. Wreaths sheathed in yellow, red and white flowers lined the stage.

As friends and fellow officers eulogized McMichael, a picture emerged of a deeply loyal family man and friend, of a lover of motorcycles and open-road travel, and of a devoted police officer whose nature was to protect.

In fact, McMichael was so kind and friendly that — more than once — people he ticketed for speeding reached out to the department to commend him for his service and professionalism, said Arlington police Officer Eddie Chappell, a close friend and member of the department’s motorcycle unit. His infectious spirit helped him become a natural leader of the department’s motorcycle unit.

“That guy knew how to command a room,” Chappell said. “If he was speaking, everyone was listening.”

Once, when his daughter Natalie called him from Utah to tell him she was anxious about driving home by herself, McMichael immediately booked a plane ticket and flew there to drive home with her, Arlington police chaplain Rick Burgin said. McMichael referred to his other daughter, Daphne, as his “mini me,” and the two spoke every day, sometimes several times a day.

Known as Bop Bop to his grandchildren, McMichael — who stood 6-6 — would often wear matching overalls with his oldest granddaughter, Brexi, to feed the chickens and cows on their family farm.

“If he loved you,” Burgin said, “he did whatever it took to protect you.”

Although he served as an Arlington police officer for 24 years, in patrol and as a detective, he found his professional purpose when he joined the department’s motorcycle unit 13 years ago, combining his love of motorcycles and police work.

McMichael and his widow, Lynette McMichael, also an Arlington police officer whom he married four years ago, shared a love for adventure and travel and frequently rode together, Burgin said.

McMichael was killed about 6 a.m. Sept. 21 after a driver ran him over while he was on his motorcycle on Interstate 20 near Dowdy Ferry Road in Dallas County. Police have not yet identified the driver, and a $20,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to an arrest.

In a letter that was read aloud, Lynette McMichael wrote that it has felt like her world turned upside down since the accident. She said she felt cheated out of the plans she had with her husband.

“There are people who never find a love like ours” she wrote. “I would rather have the four years I spent with you than never have experienced your love at all.”

Outside the church, a sea of uniformed officers saluted as McMichael’s flag-draped coffin passed, headed toward a long line of police motorcycles waiting to lead the way.