Martin Tracey, (third from right), brother of Edward Tracey, former police captain with the San Leandro Police Department, and fellow officers escort Edward Tracey's coffin before the service on April 25, at the Neighborhood Church in Castro Valley. Hundreds of people, including his colleagues and community members, attended the funeral. Lia Zhu / China Daily

Chinese-American police officer Edward Tracey was remembered by Chinese Weibo users as the person who helped create the police department's first Weibo account to reach out the large Asian community in the Bay Area. He also initiated efforts to send get-well greetings to support a policewoman battling cancer in China.

After word got out that he was battling cancer himself, Chinese supporters returned his favor by sending him similar get-well wishes. He died at his home on the evening of April 14. He was 45.

As part of the legacy he left behind, "We receive emails and messages from the world because of the connections he made internationally", said San Leandro Police Department Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli.

To pay tribute to Tracey, the SLPD's Weibo stopped updating for one day on April 25, the day after Tracey's 46th birthday.

In Oakland's Chinatown, seniors, each with a white chrysanthemum in hand, lined the street where the hearse passed. It was in that neighborhood that seniors used to be afraid to report crimes, but with the help of Tracey, the first Chinese-speaking Neighborhood Crime Preventing Council was born with the aim of stopping attacks on seniors and improving their quality of life.

Last December, Tracey partnered with the San Leandro community to start the department's first "Santa on Wheels", with officers escorting Santa Claus throughout the city, visiting underprivileged families and delivering Christmas gifts to them.

San Leandro Mayor Pauline Cutter, on behalf of the city council, proclaimed April 22 "Captain Edward Tracey Day" and posthumously commended him for his 28 years of dedicated service, thanking him for his leadership, friendship and inspirational spirit.