25th annual Police Memorial procession and service is tribute for fallen officers
Law enforcement around the Central Coast paid tribute to the lives lost in the line of duty at the 25th annual Police Memorial hosted by the Monterey County Peace Officers Association in Marina.
The procession began at 5:30 p.m. at Marina Municipal Airport and went to St. Judes Church on Hillcrest Avenue where a memorial service started at 6 p.m.
Law enforcement vehicles from almost every agency in Monterey County and around the Central Coast participated in the procession.
Twenty-three officers have lost their lives in Monterey County alone. The last fallen officer in the county was Investigator Steven N. Davies of the District Attorney’s Office.
In Santa Cruz County 10 officers tragically lost their lives. The last two being Sgt. Loran “Butch” Baker and Detective Elizabeth Butler in 2013 with the Santa Cruz Police Department.
“It’s a time for us to get together and remind ourselves why we’re here and what we do and why we chose this profession in the first place,” said Cmdr. Eddie Anderson, with the Marina Police Department, “It’s also a time to just pay the respects to those, even though we never met them, as you know, as most people know, there’s a brotherhood in this profession.”
The service also honored all 11 California peace officers who were killed in the line of duty last year. Forty officers lost their lives nationwide in 2019.
In California, two peace officers have lost their lives in the line of duty in 2019: Officer Natalie Becky Corona with the Davis Police Department and Sergeant Steven L. Lincon with the California Highway Patrol.
