The death of late New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who was a “cop’s cop, truly a leader’s leader,” leaves “such a hole in our hearts,” National Police Association spokesperson Betsy Brantner Smith told Newsmax Friday during his funeral. 

“I was on my agency’s honor guard,” said Smith, a retired Chicago-area police officer, on Newsmax’s “National Report.” “I have carried these caskets. I have participated in these, and Bernie Kerik was a role model, not just to me but to tens of thousands of law enforcement officers, not just in New York, but around the nation.”

Kerik’s funeral Mass was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City on Friday. He died on May 29 at the age of 69 after a sudden illness.

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