Oklahoma City police Sgt. remembered

By Gan Matthews, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Friends and loved ones gathered Friday morning to remember and celebrate the life of Oklahoma City police Sergeant Robert Douglas.

Robert Douglas loved the roar of the motorcycle. So he would have loved to see his fellow motorcycle officers arriving at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in his honor.

Inside, there was music and praise, smiles and tears, tributes and tender memories. His widow, who cared for him for five years, said the two of them had a rocky start.

"When I was first introduced to Robert, frankly, I couldn't stand him," Alycia Douglas said

But in time, they fell in love, got married and had a son, Robert Jr. Alycia Douglas shared much, giving a painful insight into her husband's ordeal, now ended.

"Robert is free now from the curious stares of strangers, loss of privacy, loss of dignity and free from what I am sure was pure hell of being consciously aware of your surroundings, however unable to communicate in any way, shape, or form," Alycia said

Reverend Ernest Jackson thinks Robert Douglas has new duties now.

"I believe from the bottom of my heart that Robert Craig Douglas is in heaven with the Lord patrolling the angels, because sometimes they may go fast," Rev. Jackson said.

Douglas began his career as an Oklahoma City police officer in 1985. In 1998 he transferred to the motorcycle unit. Douglas was crossing an intersection in July 2003, when a car ran a red light and crashed into his motorcycle. He was thrown from his cycle, and then was run over by a pickup. He was in a coma for five years before dying this weekend.

Alycia said one of Douglas's fondest memories was meeting President George W. Bush in Oklahoma City in 2001.

Douglas's funeral was held at St. Luke's United Methodist Church at 10 a.m.