By Jeff W. Reisig

May 13-19 is National Police Week, which honors officers who have been killed in the line of duty. National Police Week has evolved over the past 30 years. What began as a memorial service attended by 120 survivors and supporters of law enforcement has evolved into a weeklong event that gives survivors and other supporters an opportunity to come together and honor law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.

Yolo officers killed in the line of duty

California Highway Patrol

Officer Andrew Stevens: Nov. 17, 2005, gunfire

Sgt. Gary Wages: March 15, 2001, vehicle collision

Officer William Freeman: Dec. 22, 1978, gunfire

Officer Roy Blecher: Dec. 22, 1978, gunfire

Officer Ivan Casselman: Aug. 24, 1935, motorcycle collision

Yolo County Sheriff’s Office

Deputy Jose “Tony” Diaz: June 15, 2008, gunfire

Deputy Walter Leinberger: Nov. 18, 1943, gunfire

Davis Police Department

Officer Douglas Cantrill: Sept. 7, 1959, gunfire

Winters Police Department

City Marshall William Rice: Oct. 18, 1912, gunfire

West Sacramento Police Department

Officer James McKnight: June 16, 1990, gunfire

Woodland Police Department

Officer Lawrence Sills: June 13, 1945, motorcycle collision

Originating in 1962 with President John F. Kennedy signing a proclamation designating May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day, the weeklong event in Washington, D.C., hosts thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world, and offers several events that serve to honor those officers who have died and provide support and services to the families and friends.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is the nation’s monument to law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. Dedicated on Oct. 15, 1991, the memorial honors more than 19,000 federal, state and local law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and protection of our nation and its people since the first known line-of-duty death in 1791.

As of April 2011, the state of California has 1,487 names of fallen officers engraved upon the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

The California Peace Officer Memorial, at 10th Street and Capitol Mall in Sacramento, was unveiled May 13, 1988, as a memorial for California officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Locally, the Yolo County Retired Peace Officers Association has undertaken the planning and fundraising for a Yolo County Peace Officer Memorial. Its members are working with the Yolo County Board of Supervisors to determine an appropriate location. For more information and to help, visit ycrpoa.org.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund, in the past 10 years, 1,794 law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty. This is an average of 163 officers killed per year, or one line-of-duty death every 53 hours. Additionally, FBI records indicate an annual average of 59,069 assaults on officers, resulting in 16,041 injuries.

Locally, Yolo County has had to endure the loss of 11 of its community protectors since 1912. Most recently, the murder of Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Diaz occurred on June 15, 2008. Deputy Diaz’s murder shattered our county just three days after the killer of local California Highway Patrol Officer Andy Stevens was sentenced to death in Yolo Superior Court for his murder on Nov. 17, 2005.

From a personal perspective, the impacts of a line-of-duty death are far-reaching — the emotional toll changes family members’, friends’ and other survivors’ lives forever. As district attorney, I had the great responsibility and honor to personally prosecute the killers of both Andy Stevens and Tony Diaz. During these trials, I saw the demonstration of love and loss that so many had for these fine officers.

As a prosecutor, I have a duty to represent evidence in court in an almost stoic and sanitized manner. This oft-apparent void of emotion is a necessity to carry out judicial proceedings, however, it is a mask for the emotion that brews underneath.

My relationship with the law enforcement officers who serve Yolo County has developed over my 15 years serving Yolo County. I consider many of those who serve our communities as dear friends. Many of their families, as well as those of Andy and Tony, have become my friends as well.

In getting to know many of the law enforcement families, I have discovered that the recent loss of Andy and Tony has had a ripple effect into the lives of those who never even knew these men. Those affected include husbands and wives who now have increased worry about the safety of their law enforcement spouse, and children who hold on a little longer during that goodbye hug before mom or dad leave for their shift.

There’s a seemingly omnipresent undercurrent of concern when their loved one is away at work, protecting all of us.

The men and women who serve in law enforcement, who operate as our domestic shield — as protectors, mentors, diplomats, counselors, and who carry the torch of justice — are an uncommon good. They are the men and women who run to the crisis, to the accident, to the violent and vicious, to the vulnerable and weak.

It is in National Law Enforcement Memorial Week that all of us can take time to remember those who have given their lives in service to us all. During this time, we reflect on the loss experienced by all of the family, friends and colleagues the brave men and women left behind. We convey hope for the resiliency of those survivors; promise and optimism for the future; and concern for the protection and safety for those who protect us, our families, our children.

In addition to the district attorney’s role in prosecuting these murders and all other state and local crimes that occur within Yolo County, the district attorney also employs our own law enforcement officers within its Investigations Division.

Currently, the D.A.’s Office has 11 full-time sworn peace officers working as criminal investigators. This group of law enforcement officers is augmented by eight non-sworn staff and anywhere from four to eight retired sworn police officers working in a part-time capacity to help address backlogs or other special assignments.

The core work performed by the district attorney’s peace officers is to provide investigative services and support for cases pending trial, both to the prosecutors and to the local law enforcement agencies having original jurisdiction over the crime.

Additionally, some of the investigative staff is assigned to specialized areas of investigations, including auto theft, narcotics, gangs, child sexual abuse, elder abuse, insurance fraud, child abduction, high-tech crimes and consumer fraud and environmental protection.

Sacramento hosted the California Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony on Monday, May 7, at 10th Street and Capitol Mall in Sacramento. Another regional ceremony is planned for Wednesday, May 23, at noon at the Solano County Sheriff’s Department, 530 Union Ave. in Fairfield.

— Jeff W. Reisig is the district attorney for Yolo County.

Andy StevensW

California Highway Patrol Officer Andy Stevens. Courtesy photo

Tony DiazW

Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Jose “Tony” Diaz. Courtesy photo

RubbingsW

Vicki Guerrero, a staff member at the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, makes rubbings of Andy Stevens’ and Tony Diaz’s names at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. Courtesy photo

Comments

comments