On February 28, 2021, 17-year-old Farrah Rauch was involved in an attempted carjacking in Oklahoma. The high school junior, along with her 17-year-old boyfriend, led police on a chase that ultimately ended in tragedy.
Farrah reportedly fired shots at officers while fleeing and was then shot and killed by police. Her boyfriend shot himself at the scene.
Farrah’s grieving father, Steven, says his daughter had found herself in a “dark cycle” of drug addiction and mental health issues when she was shot. Despite his unimaginable pain, he said he understood the officers were doing their jobs, and that they didn’t know that Farrah and her boyfriend were teenagers at the time.
In the wake of the shooting, the four responding officers were placed on administrative leave while an investigation took place.
But just days after the death of his beloved daughter, Steven did something very unexpected: He invited those four officers to Farrah’s funeral.
While the officers felt too emotional to attend, Police Chief Johnny Teehee accepted the invitation. He says it was the first time in his 35 years on the job that he was invited to speak at a victim’s funeral.
Watch the video below to see a powerful message of forgiveness in the face of unbearable loss.
