Outpouring Of Support For Weymouth Police Officer Michael Chesna

WEYMOUTH (CBS) - He may have been a police officer, but that was just a small slice of Michael Chesna's life.

Just ask the staff at White's Bakery in Hingham, where Chesna was a regular and often stopped by after his shift to buy cookies for his kids.

"Amazing guy, every time he came in he had a smile on his face," said Hannah Dickson, a manager at White's. "I'm sure he had a long night with no sleep, but always had a smile, always making us laugh."

All across Eastern Massachusetts, collections are being taken up to help Chesna's family. At the Weymouth Police station, people are dropping off cash and checks.

"Horrible, horrible situation. Never seen anything like it in my life," said Ralph Coy, a local mason who felt the need to help Chesna's family.

John Arnstein, a retired Boston Police detective has a good idea of what happened Sunday morning. In 1981, Arnstein went to the ground with a suspect who got a hold of the cop's gun and shot him three times.

"It just really brings back memories of what happened to me," Arnstein said. "The similarity, the car chase, I chased him on foot, and you know, I ended up getting shot with my gun after a violent struggle. But I really feel bad for this, for Michael."

In Rockland some kids decided to set up a lemonade stand to raise money for Chesna's family. They raised $900.

A fund has been set up to help Officer Chesna's family.