PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Flowers and memorials adorned a Pine Bluff police patrol car Tuesday as the city took stock of its loss following the death of Det. Kevin Collins.
The 5-year member of the force died in a shootout with a man wanted for murder at a motel on Monday.
"He loved his mom. He loved his family. He was just a genuinely loving person," said LaRhonda Payne, a family friend. "And he loved his city."
Payne's 11-year-old son Kameron Johnson saw Collins realize his dream of becoming a police officer. It inspired him to begin thinking about what he wants to do when he grows up.
"The way he acted, so happy and cheerful, and it just reminded me of myself," Kameron said. "And it made me want to be a police officer."
Payne said Collins nurtured that spirit as his own star rose in the department.
"He took him around the neighborhood, letting him run the siren, talk on the speaker on the mic in the car," she said. "He taught him how to work every button in the police car."
Both mother and son say they went into denial when they got the news Monday. Then shock gave way to grief for them and many others on Tuesday.
But not fright. At least not for Kameron. He has big ahead of him and losing his friend in the line of duty isn't changing that.
"I feel sad, but I understand he had his time. And everything's gonna be okay," Kameron said. "I want to open a health center where I can get homeless people a home. And I can do it when I'm a police officer."
A funeral service is planned on Saturday at 3 p.m.
A visitation schedule was still being determined Tuesday afternoon.