Thousands of law enforcement members joined family and friends Friday morning in Orange County for a funeral for an NYPD officer killed by police gunfire in the Bronx.

NYPD Officer Brian Mulkeen was fatally shot last Sunday during what officials said was confrontation with an armed man in the Bronx.

Police from across the state and country joined thousands of men and women of the NYPD, overwhelming the small Orange County village of Monroe, turning the main street into a sea of blue for the funeral mass at Sacred Heart Church in the officer's hometown.

(Thousands of police officers line a street in Monroe, New York, as the hearse bearing police officer Brian Mulkeen leaves the Church of the Sacred Heart. Mark Lennihan/AP.)

Mulkeen graduated from Fordham University and worked as a financial advisor before pursuing his true passion: protecting others.

Police Commissioner James O'Neill fought back tears as he remembered the fallen hero.

"Brian was anything but ordinary," O'Neill said during the funeral services. "What he accomplished in his short time on the job and at just 33 years old, regularly taking loaded guns off the street and locking up society's main drivers of violence and disorder, was nothing short of extraordinary."

"He could have taken an easier path; that wasn't Brian," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Mulkeen began his law enforcement career in the nearby town of Tuxedo, and then joined the NYPD about six years ago. He made a big impact in the Bronx Anti-Crime unit, earning five medals while making more than 250 arrests over his too short career. De Blasio highlighted how Mulkeen had taken a gun off the street while making an arrest the night before he was killed.

"It takes a tremendous amount of courage and skill to do the work Brian and his team are so adept at doing," O'Neill said. "The type of courage that you really don't expect people to possess, much less display every single day and night."

Those showing up in support and sympathy said Mulkeen's family, friends, and his girlfriend, a fellow police officer in the Bronx, can rest knowing Mulkeen will never be forgotten.

(Brian Mulkeen, father of slain police officer Brian Mulkeen, embraces an officer after receiving the flag the draped his son's coffin. Mark Lennihan/AP.)

"As long as the NYPD exists, we will forever honor him every day by continuing the work he died doing," O'Neill said.

As a final honor, the police commissioner announced a posthumous promotion for Mulkeen to Detective First Grade.

Mourners gathered for a wake Thursday.

The 33-year-old was killed by shots from other officers Sunday during what police called a struggle with man who had a gun at the Edenwald Houses. That man was shot and killed by police as well, the NYPD said.

NYPD Captain Jeff Heilig described Mulkeen as a kind man who loved his job, giving it 100 percent.

"He was the best of the best. He was a gentle giant, and I mean that. When it was time to be on the street, to be the police, he was. When it was time to be compassionate and have a heart, he did. This loss, it's not only a loss for this department, this city, or this state, it's a loss for the entire country," Heilig said.

Mulkeen was the second NYPD officer to die by police gunfire this year.

The department's Anti-Crime units are expected to undergo firearms tactical retraining next week.