Steven Rauch was heartbroken to learn his 17-year-old daughter had died after police returned gunfire. He invited the officers and police chief to the teen's funeral for the sake of healing and forgiveness.
The father of an Oklahoma teen killed by police gunfire during a carjacking chase invited the four officers involved and the chief of police to her funeral. "I just felt compelled to invite them, not only for my own healing, but for their healing, too. I just thought it would be an awesome thing and for my heart, because I know they were doing their jobs,” Steven Rauch told Inside Edition.
Cops pursued Rauch’s 17-year-old daughter Farrah and her boyfriend in a wild chase involving a stolen vehicle. Police say Farrah shot at officers, who returned fire, striking and killing the teen, the Omaha World Herald reported. When approached by the officers, her boyfriend turned the gun on himself and took his own life.
Steven Rauch says he’ll never forget the moment he heard that his daughter was gone.
"I felt like my feet were lifted two feet in the air. I was dumbfounded. I was shocked. I was — a whole bunch of emotions and feelings and confusion and it’s like, oh my god, what what what,” Rauch said.
He says Muskogee Police Chief Johnny Teehee reached out to him and answered all his questions with compassion. Rauch then invited Teehee and the involved officers to Farrah's funeral.
"I've been in law enforcement for 35 years and this was something I've never been a part of, never seen and obviously never heard of,” Teehee told Inside Edition. The chief was also invited to speak at the funeral.
“What is the message that we can take from this young life, that we can carry on from this point on and revert back to that? And to me, that message is forgiveness,” Teehee said.
Following the speech, Teehee and Rauch hugged.
“It really solidified life after death. A hug can just carry forever,” Rauch said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover Farrah’s funeral costs.
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