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This is dedicated to the brave men and women of California Law Enforcement, Firefighting and all other Peace Officers, who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

We list the names of all the individuals who have left us too soon, from August to August of every year, coinciding with the Downed Officer Support Ride...


2009 - 2010

Sergeant Ira G. Essoe, Jr.

Orange County Sheriff’s Department

February 4, 2010

On November 6, 1980, Sgt. Essoe and his partner had gone to the Mall of Orange to collect bail on a warrant. Upon arriving they observed three men breaking into a vehicle in the mall parking lot. Sgt. Essoe approached one side of the vehicle as his partner approached the opposite side. One of the suspects disarmed his partner at gunpoint ordering him to the ground. Sgt. Essoe attempted to draw his weapon and was fired upon by the three suspects, striking him twice. All three suspects were arrested and sentenced for attempted murder. Sgt. Essoe remained in poor health and passed away on February 4, 2010, from complications of the wounds. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Deputy Joel Wahlenmaier

Fresno County Sheriff’s Department

February 25, 2010

Officer Javier Bejar

Reedley, CA Police Department

March 1, 2010

On the morning of February 25, Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy Joel Wahlenmaier was killed in a shooting in rural Fresno County town of Minkler, his partner, Deputy Mark Harris was wounded by shrapnel and Reedley Police Officer Javier Bejar was also injured and on life support. Officers were assisting Cal-Fire in serving an arrest warrant connected to an investigation concerning some recent reported arsons and shooting incidents. After attempting to make contact, the officers broke down the door and the suspect opened fire. The suspect barricaded himself inside and continued shooting. Officer Bejar was struck by the subsequent gunfire. Deputy Joel Wahlenmaier leaves behind his wife, Bev, daughter, Amy (24), son, Austin (21) and his parents.

Twenty eight-year old Officer Javier Bejar was taken off of life support on March 1, 2010. Prior to joining the Reedley Police Department, Officer Bejar served in the U.S. Marines in Iraq and Kuwait and is survived by his wife of two years.

Deputy Ken Collier

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department

February 28, 2010

At approximately 3:00 A.M., Deputy Collier and his ride-along, Sheriff’s Dispatcher Ryan Detellis, came upon a wrong-way driver on Highway 52 in the city of Santee. Deputy Collier was attempting to overtake the wrong-way driver, driving his patrol SUV, driving the center median shoulder when it struck the center median bridge abutment, rolled several hundred feet, ejecting Deputy Collier. Detellis was able to crawl out of the SUV just before it exploded. Emergency workers were able to move both from the ravine where the SUV landed and they were airlifted to trauma centers. Deputy Ken Collier was 39-years old and left behind his fiancée, whom he was suppose to marry in June, and a brother and sister. Dispatcher Detellis was expected to make a full recovery.

Officer Dan Benavides

California Highway Patrol – Border Division

May 7, 2010

Thirty nine-year old CHP Officer Dan Benavides was killed when his Cessna patrol aircraft crashed into the Salton Sea in Imperial County. Officer Benavides was a 13-year member of the CHP, assigned to the Border Division Thermal Air Operations Unit since July 2006. He is survived by his wife and nine-year old daughter.

Tedmond “Ted” Hall

Arnaldo “Arnie” Quinones

Los Angeles County Fire Department

August 30, 2009

Fire Captain Tedmund “Ted” Hall and Specialist Arnaldo “Arnie” Quinones were killed in the line of duty on Sunday, August 30, 2009, when their emergency response vehicle went over the side and fell 800 feet into a steep canyon during fire suppression activities protecting Camp 16 during the Station Fire. Capt. Hall was 47 years old and joined the Los Angeles County Fire Department in 1981 as a student worker. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen, sons Randall, 21, and Steven, 20, as well as his parents, Roland Ray and Donna Marie Hall. Specialist Quinones was 35 years old with eight years as a member of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Officer Tom Coleman

California Highway Patrol – San Bernardino

June 11, 2010

Thirty-Three year old CHP Motor Officer Tom Coleman was killed in a crash while pursuing a fleeing suspect in Redlands, CA. Officer Coleman initiated a traffic stop for a traffic violation when the suspect fled in his vehicle at a high rate of speed. Officer Coleman was involved in a traffic collision with a big rig. Four suspects were taken into custody by the California Highway Patrol. Officer Coleman was a seven year veteran with the CHP and survived by his wife, Jamie, their two-and-a-half year old son and eight month old daughter, as well as his mother and sister.

Officer Phillip Ortiz

California Highway Patrol – West Los Angeles

June 23, 2010

Motor Officer Phillip Ortiz initiated a traffic stop on a SUV on the San Diego Freeway near the Interstate 10 interchange as a second vehicle sped along the shoulder bypassing slower traffic to get to an off ramp. The driver plowed into the motorcycle, the SUV and Officer Ortiz. The motorcycle was mangled and the SUV was knocked onto its side. Phillip Ortiz was 48-years old and a 28-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol. He is survived by his wife, parents and a large extended family.

Officer Justin McGrory

California Highway Patrol – Barstow

June 27, 2010

Officers Justin McGrory and Ryan Bostrom were on a traffic stop on Interstate 15 when a vehicle veered onto the right shoulder, clipping the right rear of the patrol vehicle and then striking Office McGrory. The eighteen-year old driver of the vehicle was charged with vehicular manslaughter, child endangerment, and transportation of marijuana. Officer McGrory was 28-years old and was with the CHP since October, 2007. He is survived by his father, retired CHP Lieutenant Robert McGrory and his mother, Jeana McGrory.

Officer Brett Oswald

California Highway Patrol – Templeton

June 27, 2010

On June 27, CHP Officer Brett Oswald was responding to an abandoned vehicle on South River Road in Paso Robles when he was hit by another vehicle. Forty-seven year old Officer Oswald was outside his patrol vehicle awaiting a tow truck when a vehicle turned a corner at a high rate of speed, lost control hitting the patrol vehicle which struck Officer Oswald. The driver of the vehicle was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and driving with a suspended license. Officer Oswald was a 20-year veteran of the CHP and survived by his wife Marlene, mother Linda and father Richard.

2007 - 2008

Randal Simmons
Los Angeles Police Department

February 7, 2008

On the evening of February 6, 2007, LAPD dispatchers received a 911 from a male reporting that he had killed several people inside the home in the San Fernando Valley. LAPD SWAT team entered the residence and exchanged gunfire. Officer Randy Simmons, a 27-year veteran of the LAPD, was wounded and later passed away at Northridge Medical Center. His partner, 51-year old Jim Veenstra was injured and survived after a successful surgery. Police fired tear gas canisters into the home and a fire broke out. It was the first fatality in the history of the LAPD SWAT team, which was created in 1967. Officer Simmons is survived by his wife and two children, a son and a daughter, his parents and three sisters.

Senior Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar
United States Border Patrol

Yuma Sector - San Diego, California

January 19, 2008

United States Border Patrol agents had observed two vehicles entering the United States from Mexico about 20 miles west of Yuma, AZ. Agents followed the vehicles on Interstate 8 when the drivers of the vehicles saw they were being followed. The vehicles turned around and headed back in the direction they came from. Senior Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar was trying to deploy spike strips near the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area when he was intentionally struck and killed by one of the vehicles. Both vehicles fled into Mexico and the suspects are still at large. Senior Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar was 34-years old and survived by his wife and two children. Agent Aguilar was from El Paso, TX and lived in Yuma, AZ with his family.

Stryker
San Diego Police Department

December 31, 2007

San Diego Police Department K-9, Stryker, was patrolling with his partner, Officer Kedrick Sadler, when they witnessed a traffic accident. The driver headed south on Interstate 5 with Carlsbad police and California Highway Patrol officers joining the pursuit. The suspect exited Interstate 5 and got out of his vehicle on the San Diego-Coronado Bridge. Stryker was released; he bit the suspect and pulled him to the ground. The suspect stood up, grabbed Stryker and jumped over the concrete barrier into San Diego Bay. It was not clear whether Stryker had let go of the suspect or not. Stryker was a 75 pound Belgian Malinois and Officer Sadler was his trainer for the previous six-months. The drunken-driving suspect, 27-year old Cory Byron survived the 200-foot drop and was arrested on suspicion of causing the death of a police dog, evading arrest and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Detective Vu Nguyen
Sacramento County Sheriff's Department

December 19, 2007

Detective Vu Nguyen, of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, and his partner, were on a routine visit to a known gang house in South Sacramento on the afternoon of December 19. A male standing in front of the house took off as the officers approached. The officers took chase and Detective Nguyen followed the suspect over a fence, his partner heard gunshots and found Detective Nguyen with a gunshot to the neck. He was life-flighted to UCD Medical Center where after surgery, he succumbed to his injuries. A manhunt involving more than 100 police, sheriff's detectives and federal agents lasted through the night and the next day a 16-year old boy was arrested at a family member's home. Detective Nguyen was a ten-year veteran and had been in the gang unit for three years. He is survived by his wife.

Detective Kent Haws
Tulare County Sheriff's Department

December 17, 2007

At approximately 1:40 PM, Detective Kent Haws was investigating a report of suspicious activity. Detective Haws was driving southbound on Road 156 when he saw a vehicle parked next to an orange grove. The officer made a U-turn and investigated the vehicle. While talking to the occupants, he saw a man in the orchard; he sent the vehicle on its way and informed the Sheriff's Dispatcher he was investigating a man in the orchard. The man in the orchard fired upon Detective Haws, striking him. Detective Haws died that afternoon at Kaweah Delta Hospital in Visalia. A suspect was taken into custody later in the day and charged with murder. He was still in possession of the murder weapon when he was apprehended. Detective Kent Haws was a ten-year veteran of the Tulare Sheriff's Department and survived by his wife, three young children, mother, brother, sister, and stepfather.

Captain Ed Kelly
Ross Valley California Fire Department

November 27, 2007

On November 27, 2007, Firefighter Captain Ed Kelly of the Ross Valley Fire Department passed away from occupational cancer. Captain Kelly was a fire fighter for almost 40-years and is survived by his wife and daughter. He was also Treasurer for Marin Professional Firefighters Local 1775.

Officer John P. Miller
California Highway Patrol - Dublin Area

November 16, 2007

On the evening of November 16, thirty two-year old California Highway Patrol Officer John Miller was on North Livermore Avenue north of Interstate Highway 580, assisting other officers searching for an "extremely intoxicated" driver. Officer Miller was alone in his patrol vehicle. He lost control of his radio car while approaching a sharp curve and crashed into a tree suffering fatal injuries. The suspected impaired driver was arrested shortly after the fatal collision. Officer Miller only graduated from the CHP academy in March, 2007, and is survived by his wife Stephanie, a four-year old son, and a two-year old daughter.

Officer Sergio Carrera Jr.
Rialto Police Department

October 18, 2007

On the morning of October 18, members of the SWAT Teams from the Rialto and Colton Police Departments, along with agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, simultaneously raided four homes on West Cascade Drive in Rialto, CA, serving search warrants for illegal drugs. Officers struggled with a resident of one of the targeted homes when 29 year-old Rialto Police Officer Sergio Carrera Jr. was shot in the chest. Officer Carrera was airlifted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where he later died. Jaranard Thomas was arrested on suspicion of murder of a police officer. Officer Carrera was a four-year veteran of the Rialto Police Department and a member of the SWAT Team. He is the second Rialto officer to die in the line of duty. Officer Carrera is survived by wife and two children, a two-year old boy and a year-old daughter.

Firefighter Matt Will
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

San Benito Monterey Unit

October 9, 2007

Heavy Fire Equipment Operator Matt Will passed away as a result of injuries sustained in a rollover accident involving his fire dozer while fighting a 50-acre fire in Monterey County. The accident is still under investigation. Will was 30-years old and a heavy fire equipment operator with CDF since May, 1993. He is survived by his wife, Diana, 10-year-old son Trysten, and eight-year-old daughter Elise.

Firefighter Steven A. Gregory
Ventura County Fire Department

August 26, 2007

Ventura County Firefighter Steven A. Gregory died at home on August 26, 2007, due to occupational Cancer. Firefighter Gregory started his career with the Ventura County Fire Department in 1998 after serving as a firefighter with the State of California, stationed at Camarillo State Hospital where he worked for 26-years, the last seven as a firefighter. He was 46-years old and survived by his daughters Ande and Stevie Rae, their mother Robin; his parents, Thelma and Albert Gregory; his sisters Barbara Price and Tresa Gregory.