LAPD Fallen Officer Memorial Signs Unveiled...

On February 28, 1907, Policeman Clyde A. May was the first member of LAPD killed in the line of duty, following a shootout with a burglary suspect. Within the last six weeks, Officers Nicholas Lee, Christopher A. Cortijo and Roberto Sanchez became the 205th, 206th and 207th police officers to sacrifice their lives in the line of duty. 

This week, I was proud to stand with the LAPD to both honor the 207 officers who died in the line of duty and to unveil street memorial signs that will be placed throughout the City in their honor. 

This was a true collaborative efforts between, LAPD, and the Department of Transportation. The signs will be posted near where the officers were killed. For officers killed outside the city or country (veterans killed during combat operations), the signs will be erected near the police station of the fallen officer, near the Police Administration Building, or the Elysian Park Academy grounds.

As part of this effort to honor the memory of fallen officers, the LAPD learned that many of the historic records for officers killed in the line of duty were incomplete or inaccurate. For example, the locations of death were imprecise or undetermined in several instances with locations only reported as rail yards or unspecified traffic collisions. Additionally, the names and dates of death were often incorrect. The LAPD conducted exhaustive research over 10 months to obtain precise incident information to complete the project. This included, consulting with the LAPD Police Museum, locating old police reports (homicide or traffic), searching news reports, conducting site visits, interviewing past partners of the deceased, obtaining death records and visiting coroners’ offices for information. 

In addition, detailed site surveys which included maps and digital files for every location where signs were to be placed to ensure the locations were suitable for placement were conducted. Each sign will have a number and the public will soon be able to go to a virtual memorial website to learn more about the circumstances of those who gave their life in service to the City of Los Angeles.  The officer’s relatives and friends will be able to leave video tributes, letters, poems, and photographs on the website. The virtual memorial is being designed to help tell the story behind the street signs and remember the sacrifices. 

These signs will tell a story of not only the individual sacrifice but a story of the greatest police force in the nation and the families who sacrificed along the way. 

Click here to read the LA Times story.  Click here to read the Daily News story. 

- Mitchell Englander, Councilmember Twelfth District