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Hundreds attend funeral of New Haven police officer killed in Las Vegas crash

Joshua Castellano, 35, graduated from the New Haven police academy in 2014. He was described as being a true blend of toughness and compassion, which earned respect.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — St. Mary's Church in New Haven was teeming with tears Friday morning, as many gathered to remember a cop described to have the 'it factor.'

One week ago, New Haven police officer Joshua Castellano, 35, was in Las Vegas celebrating with fellow New Haven cops. Now, family, friends and colleagues celebrated his all too short life.

RELATED: 'We’re here to support ' | CT law enforcement standing strong for late New Haven officer

"This loss in particular, it’s complicated emotionally for so many because of the history of what happened," New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said.

Castellano was killed last Friday in a Las Vegas car crash. One of his best friends, New Haven officer Robert Ferraro, was the driver.

Ferraro faces up to 20 years in prison after being charged with DUI and reckless driving.

"His mom is the one who laid the foundation that we were able to reap the benefits of because I didn’t make Josh a good cop," Acting Police Chief Renee Dominguez told FOX61."His mom did the hard work." 

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Castellano graduated from the New Haven police academy in 2014.

He was described by family and friends as having heart, which is fitting considering that’s the acronym for the police department's mission statement.

"It's honor, excellence, accountability, respect and tenacity and he has all of those values," Dominguez said. 

"He was the type of guy that would chase you for 10 blocks and then make sure you had water and you were OK," Assistant Police Chief Karl Jacobson said.

Castellano was a true blend of toughness and compassion, which earned respect.

After learning of his death, some that he even arrested reached out to the PD to offer condolences. 

RELATED: Community remembers New Haven officer killed in crash; officer charged with DUI released from Las Vegas jail

"They said we really like that kid," Jacobson added. "He was always nice to us. And that’s huge. That speaks volumes."

Among those walking behind his hearse to his final resting spot were officers John Truhart and Matt Borges. Both escaped serious injuries in that Vegas crash.

A Las Vegas judge granted Ferraro permission to come back to Connecticut until his next court appearance, which is a pretrial hearing scheduled for January 27.

Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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