Officer Jacob Arellano was killed while on the way to work by a suspected drunk driver. The driver has been charged with intoxication manslaughter.
DALLAS — Jacob Arellano‘s family and fellow Dallas officers gathered to escort the young officer’s body from the medical examiner’s office to Restland Cemetery Friday morning.
They stood at attention to salute him, and then Dallas Police Department’s motorcycle unit led a motorcade that made its way from downtown Dallas to the cemetery.
Among the fellow officers in attendance was Major Jason Scoggins.
“He was a really good officer, very nice, very respectful and hard working,” said Scoggins.
Scoggins was Arellano’s lieutenant when he first came out of the academy. He recalls the young rookie’s first foot pursuit.
“I went to cover him one night with a foot pursuit with a burglary suspect. He didn’t catch the guy, and he was able to kind of laugh at himself a little bit because he had slipped down an embankment. He thought it was funny and we got a good laugh about it,” said Scoggins.
And that is how most officers who knew him have described Arellano, always smiling. They were happy when he learned he was about to become a father.
“He was working with me at the time we found out that he was going to have a baby and he and his girlfriend were expecting, and some of the guys on the watch were giving him fatherly advice,” said Scoggins.
Officer Arellano was killed on the way to work just before midnight Tuesday night.
DPD said 31-year-old Mayra Reboller was driving the wrong way on Spur 408 when she hit Arellano’s vehicle head on, causing it to spin into another lane. Arellano was then hit by a tractor trailer. His car flipped multiple times.
Reboller has been charged with intoxication manslaughter.
Sources told WFAA that Reboller had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.
And now, Arellano’s family and officers must prepare to say goodbye, holding on to the memories of who he was as a man, a father, a son, a brother and an officer.
“When you are looking at a police officer and you try to think what kind of police officer do you want working the streets, you definitely as a citizen want this type of guy,” said Scoggins.
His death is a loss to not only those who loved him but the community he served.