Hundreds honor Officer Jerving with moment of silence at fundraiser

WIND LAKE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Throughout the area Friday night, fallen Milwaukee police officer Peter Jerving was honored and celebrated at several vigils, gatherings and fundraisers.

One was held at Kelly's Bleacher's in Wind Lake. Jerving normally would have been on the sand volleyball courts Friday night, just like he was a week ago as part of the regular Friday night volleyball league at Kelly's.

But instead, loved ones celebrated the life and legacy of their friend.

David Wacker is the founder of the 'Good Peeps' social group Jerving was a part of. Friday night he said, "We're missing part of our group. Everybody feels it."

Wacker organized a remembrance ceremony that kicked off the evening. They started with 34 seconds of silence for Jerving's badge #34.

The regular Friday night crew packed into Kelly's like they always do, but this time they were surrounded and supported by hundreds of friends and strangers.

Wacker said, "It's important that we take the time to do things like this, give people a safe space to have open conversations."

There were still plenty of laughs, plenty of hugs and the usual of competition.

All the money collected for the typical $10 cover charge will be donated to Officer Jerving's family, along with all the proceeds from food and beverage sales.

Owner Kelly Vecitis embraces the opportunity to help the community cope with tragedy and wants to honor Officer Jerving by doing something positive for his family.

Vecitis said, "To lose a gentleman like, when this is all he wanted to do in life was become a police officer, to tragically lose him like that is just sad. The whole community can feel it, whether it's Wind Lake, Wisconsin or Milwaukee."

That supportive spirit has been evident throughout the week.

Julia Nowak was a close friend of Jerving. Her husband was his police partner for three-and-a-half years. On Friday she said, "Today I went and printed off hundreds of photos for Peter's funeral this weekend. And I went to pay for the photos and the cashier at Walgreens was like, Have a good day!' And I was like, 'Here's my credit card,' and he said, 'Nope, have a good day.' That really got me."

Her husband, Officer Jerving's partner on the force, was still not ready to speak publicly about his death.

At times, volleyball night was fun. The music was loud, the drinks were cold, the smiles were genuine.

MPD Officer Justin Silkey knew Jerving since before they were classmates in the police training academy. He said, "All of us coming together and being together, showing support, it's definitely nice leaning on each other. That's one thing I'm loving about this right now."

But there were still reminders that not everyone was there. Fellow officers wore shirts with Jerving's name on them, along with the date of his end of watch.