News
California Peace Officers Memorial Foundation Schedule of Events 2013
Posted on March 27, 2013SURVIVORS’ RECEPTION 2:00 – 3:30 P.M.
HYATT REGENCY – Capitol View 15th Floor
This time is provided for honored families, past-year survivors, and co-workers to interact with each other as well as members from Concerns of Police Survivors. A great opportunity to extend encouragement and support to one another.
CEREMONY REHEARSAL FOR PARTICIPATING OFFICERS 2:00 – 5:00 P.M.
MEMORIAL MONUMENT – 10th Street & Capitol Mall
Mandatory participation required for all officers representing honored officers/agencies.
BUFFET DINNER 6:00 – 7:30 P.M.
HYATT REGENCY – Ballroom
Honored families, past survivors, and participating officers are invited to a buffet dinner sponsored by the California Peace Officers’ Memorial Foundation.
CANDLIGHT VIGIL 8:30 – 9:30 P.M.
MEMORIAL MONUMENT – 10th Street & Capitol Mall
With welcoming comments from the CPOMF President, remarks from departmental and past survivor representatives, a Roll Call of Heroes, as well as music and prayer.
MONDAY MAY 6, 2013 ————————————————–––––––––––—
BUFFET BREAKFAST 7:30 – 8:30 A.M.
HYATT REGENCY – Ballroom
A buffet breakfast is provided for honored families, past survivors, and participating officers. Sponsored by the California Peace Officers’ Memorial Foundation.
LAW ENFORCEMENT CARAVAN 7:30 A.M.
CHP ACADEMY – West Sacramento
Staging for the Memorial Caravan begins at 0730 hours at the CHP Academy, 3500 Reed Avenue West Sacramento, departing the Academy at 0900 hours sharp. The procession travels through West Sacramento, concluding on 10th Street, at the Memorial Monument.
HONORED FAMILIES PRIVATE CEREMONY 9:30 – 10:30 A.M.
STATE CAPITOL – Senate Hearing Room 4203
Private ceremony with state representatives for honored families, their agency escort officers, and department heads.
ENROLLMENT CEREMONY 10:30 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
MEMORIAL MONUMENT– 10th Street & Capitol Mall
Formal ceremony begins with the ‘Walk of Honor’ from the State Capitol to the Memorial Monument. Presentations by state representatives, CPOMF’s president, and a departmental keynote speaker. Ceremony concludes with a 21-gun salute, taps, and retiring of the colors.
LUNCHEON 12:00 – 3:00 P.M.
Immediately following the outdoor ceremony, lunch is provided for honored families, all attending officers, and past survivors directly across from the memorial monument on the Capitol lawn.
HOST HOTEL:
Hyatt Regency
1209 L Street
Sacramento CA 95814
916.443.1234
37th Annual Annual
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MEMORIAL CEREMONY MEMORIAL CEREMONY MEMORIAL CEREMONY MEMORIAL CEREMONY
Annual San Diego County Motor Officers Association Memorial Breakfast
Posted on March 27, 2013San Diego County Motor Officers Association Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Breakfast
Wednesday May1, 2013 7:30 am
MCAS Miramar Officers Club
All Law Enforcement Officers Invited (Federal, Military, State, County, City)
Breakfast Buffet Includes:
Assorted Fruit Juices, Sliced Fresh Fruit
Assorted Muffins, Croissants and Danish, Butter and Preserves
Scrambled Eggs, Crisp Bacon, Sausage Links
Sautéed Red Potatoes
Coffee, Tea, Decaffeinated Coffee and Milk
Cost $10.00 per person - if paid in advance ($20.00 at the door)
SDCMOA Members $5.00 if paid in advance
Tables of 10 and individual seating will only be reserved if paid in advance
YOU MUST R.S.V.P. BY APRIL 26, 2013
Makes checks payable to SDCMOA
PO Box 232273
San Diego, CA 92123-2273
***CONTACT BOB VANWULVEN FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION @ 619-990-5804 OR FAX 619-766-4614 OR BOB4614@SBCGLOBAL.NET
Department of Corrections Officer Killed in Traffic Collision
Posted on March 27, 2013A crash that killed a state Department of Corrections closed state Route 79 on Monday. A crash that killed a state Department of Corrections closed state Route 79 on Monday.
WARNER SPRINGS — An on-duty officer with the state corrections department and his canine partner were killed Monday morning in a rollover crash on state Route 79 near Warner Springs.
Sgt. Gil Cortez, 46, worked in the investigative services unit at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco and was a 23-year veteran of the state prisons force, said Luis Patiño of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The crash was reported at 7:20 a.m. about a half-mile south of San Felipe Road, the California Highway Patrol said. A portion of the highway was closed for more than seven hours while the crash was investigated. It reopened about 2:55 p.m.
photo Sgt. Gil Cortez and his dog Mattie.
Cortez was the lead car in a line of five corrections vehicles carrying dogs that were headed to La Cima Conservation Camp in Julian to conduct drug searches, Patiño said. The facility is a training fire camp for inmates.
For unknown reasons, Cortez lost control of his Crown Victoria and veered to the left, where the car hit dirt and rocks before flipping several times and landing upright on its wheels in the middle of the road, CHP Officer Brian Pennings said.
The officers who were following ran to the car and extricated him.
He was taken to a fire station to be airlifted to a hospital, but he died before he could be transported, Pennings said.
Cortez’s dog, Mattie, died at the scene, Patiño said.
Pennings said the car was traveling near the posted 55 mph speed limit on a straight stretch of the highway when the crash occurred.
Cortez, who lived in Eastvale in northwestern Riverside County, is survived by his parents, his wife and two children.
He became a state corrections officer in 1990, working first at the California Institution for Men in Chino. The next year, he transferred to the Calipatria State Prison and was assigned to the investigative services unit, where he was promoted to sergeant. He went to work at the Norco prison in 2001.
Mattie was a Belgian Malinois that had been donated by someone in the San Diego area, Patiño said.
“All of us at CDCR mourn the tragic death of Officer Gilbert Cortez,” Jeff Beard, secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said in a statement. “He was a valued member of our department, and his untimely passing in the line of duty is a huge loss to all who worked with him. Our thoughts and prayers are with Gil’s family, friends and colleagues. We are also deeply saddened by the death of Gil’s K-9 partner, Mattie.”
Staff writer Susan Shroder contributed to this report.
San Diego County Law Enforcement Memorial to be held in Balboa Park
Posted on March 24, 2013The San Diego County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony will once again take place on May 1, 2013 at 12:00 noon in the Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. All of San Diego County Law Enforcement Officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty will be honored. The ceremony will also recognize all of the men and women of law enforcement. The event, which has grown every year, is open to everyone and the public is encouraged to attend. The ceremony is sponsored by The San Diego County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation. If you would like to support the San Diego County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation please contact us at 13465 Camino Canada, Suite 106, PMB 130 El Cajon, CA 92021-8814.
A little history about National Police Week…
Whereas the police officers of America have worked devotedly and selflessly in behalf of the people of this Nation, regardless of the peril or hazard to themselves; and
Whereas these officers have safeguarded the lives and property of their fellow Americans; and
Whereas by the enforcement of our laws, these same officers have given our country internal freedom from fear of the violence and civil disorder that is presently affecting other nations;
Whereas these men and women by their patriotic service and their dedicated efforts have earned the gratitude of the Republic:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President is authorized and requested to issue proclamations (1) designating May 15 of each year as Peace Officers Memorial Day in honor of the Federal, State, and municipal officers who have been killed or disabled in the line of duty, (2) directing the officials of the Government to display at half-staff the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on such day, as provided by section 3(m) of the Act of June 22, 1942 (Chapter 435; 56 Stat. 377; 36 U.S.C. 175), (3) designating in each year the calendar week during which such May 15 occurs as Police Week, in recognition of the service given by the men and women who, night and day, stand guard in our midst to protect us through enforcement of our laws, and (4) inviting the governments of the States and communities and the people of the United States to observe such day and week with appropriate ceremonies and activities, including the display at half-staff of the flag of the United States.
Approved October 1, 1962.
Amended by Public Law 103-322 in 1994.
Public Law 87-726, signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, was amended as above by the 103rd Congress as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. President Bill Clinton signed Public Law 103-322 which directs that the flag of the United States on all Government buildings be displayed at half-staff on May 15, National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day.
Heroes Behind the Badge
Posted on October 10, 2012Heroes Behind the Badge
Heroes Behind the Badge Website
Produced by Modern City Entertainment, order your copy of this moving tribute today.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and Modern City Entertainment have teamed up to create Heroes Behind the Badge, a moving documentary about the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers serving across America.
Now available, Heroes Behind the Badge features stories about some of the brave men and women of law enforcement who have put their lives on the line and survived, as well as those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Filmed throughout the U.S., Heroes Behind the Badge highlights the lives of four fallen officers and the enormous impact their passing has had on their family members, colleagues, and community.
The film also features the stories of three officers who narrowly escaped their assailants. These living legends share their personal insights about how their near-fatal encounters have affected their lives.
Produced in partnership with the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Heroes Behind the Badge also highlights National Police Week events held in Washington, DC, including the annual May 13th Candlelight Vigil—where the names of fallen officers added to the Memorial each year are read aloud and formally dedicated—and the annual National Peace Officers Memorial Day service held at the U.S. Capitol on May 15.
One of the film’s producers, Bill Erfurth, is a retired Lieutenant of the Miami-Dade Police Department and a 25-year law enforcement veteran. For Erfurth, the project is a labor of love that he believes will create awareness about what it really means to walk the thin blue line.
“I’m excited to be working with Bill—a longtime supporter of the Memorial Fund and a talented film producer—on this project that will raise public awareness about the service and sacrifice law enforcement officers make each day across our nation,” said Craig W. Floyd, Chairman & CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.