A funeral service for fallen Cottonwood police Commander Jody Makuch will be held Friday in Cottonwood.

Makuch was killed Sept. 7 when the motorcycle he was riding was struck head-on by a driver suspected of being impaired, according to Cottonwood police officials. He was off-duty at the time. 

The service will begin at 2 p.m. at Verde Community Church and is open to the public, according to a statement from Cottonwood Police Spokesperson Monica Kahlt.

COVID-19 precautions, such as face masks and social distancing, will be required, Kahlt said in the statement. For those who can’t make it, Cottonwood police are working on setting up a livestream. Details about livestream access will be released later in the week. 

Makuch began his career in law enforcement in 1998 as a police officer with Elk City Police Department in Oklahoma. Makuch moved to Arizona and has served with the Cottonwood Police Department since January 2000, where he was promoted to sergeant in 2005 and commander in 2009, according to his profile page on the City of Cottonwood’s website. 

Makuch oversaw the Support Services Division of the department, with a variety of areas of responsibility, including the Citizen Police Academy, the Cottonwood Public Safety Communications Center, criminal investigations, animal control and victim assistance.

Kahlt also warned against scammers who are calling and asking for credit card information for donations on behalf of Makuch. According to Kahlt, callers are falsely representing themselves as someone from Law Enforcement Heroes or law enforcement.

“Law Enforcement Heroes nor anyone else representing the police department will call you asking for your credit card information,” Kahlt said in the statement. “We have websites where people can make donations or they can come to the Cottonwood Police Department and make a donation in person.” 

The only “legitimate websites” includes a GoFundMe created on behalf of Law Enforcement Heroes and Makuch’s page located directly on the Law Enforcement Heroes website. 

Reach the reporter Jamie Landers at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @jamielanderstv.

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