LAPD Honors Fallen Officers in Solemn Ceremony

Officers attend a memorial service for fallen colleagues at LAPD Headquarters in Los Angeles on May 28, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Local officials paid tribute to Los Angeles Police Department officers who have died while serving, in a solemn ceremony on May 28.

LAPD Chief Dominic Choi and Mayor Karen Bass were among a handful of city and county officials and speakers at the memorial to honor the 239 officers who have given their lives in service to the city since 1886.

“We are here to remember their courage and dedication to protecting the citizens of our great city,” Mr. Choi told the crowd gathered at LAPD’s downtown headquarters. “Each name engraved on the memorial behind you represents a life dedicated to service—a life that ended far too soon.”

Many attendees were family members, friends, and relatives of fallen officers.

Mayor Bass additionally addressed the officers in attendance, expressing gratitude for their work.

“Your work does not come without risk, and I can tell you, the people of Los Angeles do not take what you do for granted,” she said. “Thank you for your daily sacrifices. And for your dedication into serving our community. Your commitment and bravery will never go unnoticed.”

At the ceremony, Mr. Choi also announced the completion of a project to commemorate each fallen officer with a street sign posted at or near the location where they were fatally injured. The program was initiated in 2014 and includes posting signs with the names of each officer and the day they were killed.

The street signs serve to inform community members and passersby of the dedication of the LAPD and its officers, and the perils of the job they do, according to the description of the project posted at LAPD headquarters.

Roses were handed to those who attended the memorial service at LAPD Headquarters in Los Angeles on May 28, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

The ceremony started with a procession of bagpipers followed by an officer leading a riderless horse, symbolizing the fallen officer.

Similar to military ceremonies, boots placed in the stirrups of the horse faced backwards representing “a fallen leader looking back on their troops for the last time as their spirit moves on from this world,” according to Michael Ellington, a retired LAPD officer and emcee of the event.

The event also included a video commemorating each fallen officer with his or her photo.

The LAPD Choir, made up entirely of police department personnel, also performed at the memorial.

The crowd also watched as a department air support helicopter flew overhead, signifying the “missing man” formation, during which one aircraft breaks rank to fly solo, representing the departed.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna at the service. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

A solo bugler also played Taps and bagpipers Amazing Grace in honor of the fallen officers, followed by a rifle volley, during which a rifle guard fired three blank rounds into the sky.

At the end of the program, family members and partners of those remembered placed long-stem roses at or near their loved-one’s name on a Memorial Wall.

The LAPD employs about 9,000 officers, making it the third-largest municipal police department in the United States.

Since 2020, 10 officers have died while serving the department.

Officers Fernando Arroyos and Houston Tipping were the most recently killed.

In 2022, Mr. Arroyos and his girlfriend were house hunting in South Los Angeles when they were allegedly jumped by three men and a woman attempting to rob them at gunpoint. Mr. Arroyos directed his girlfriend to a safe place while the suspects were shooting at them. The off-duty officer struck one of the suspects before he was injured. He later died at the hospital.

Also in 2022, Mr. Tipping died as a result of an accidental training incident.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks at LAPD Headquarters on May 28, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times