Flags flew at half-staff at the Paterson Police Department headquarters Monday in honor of an officer who died in a car crash.

State police said Christopher Dotter died when his vehicle hit a concrete median on Route 80 westbound in Paterson before 3 a.m. The exact cause of the crash is under investigation.

Fellow officers donned black bands in Dotter's honor, while others remembered personal experiences with the 13-year force veteran.

"Chris and I ? actually went to school together since we were 10," said Paterson Policemen's Benevolent Association President Steve Olympia. "Good guy, great cop. Probably the biggest heart you could want in a police officer."

Dotter leaves behind a wife, whom he was separated from, and a 10-year-old son. His father is a retired police officer.