Hundreds of police motorcycles gleamed under a hot morning sun outside of Istrouma Baptist Church on Saturday.

In front of them — and waiting behind the hearse that would take Sgt. Caleb Eisworth's body to its final resting place — sat the ghost bike: an empty Baton Rouge Police Department patrol motorcycle representing the fallen motorman in his own procession.

His boots, empty, were placed backward on the bike's foot pegs, as is tradition for motorized patrol divisions across the country.

Eisworth served the department for 23 years, joining the motorcycle division in 2008. He received multiple awards for heroism in the line of duty, including the Medal of Valor — the highest honor bestowed by the department — for having pulled a motorist from a burning vehicle while off-duty.

He was

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