By Adam Foxman
Ventura County Star
OXNARD, Calif. — As the sound of bagpipes filled the air and a large American flag suspended from fire engine ladders rustled in the wind, scores of Oxnard police officers marched quietly past the city’s police station Wednesday during a ceremony honoring fallen comrades.
Timed to coincide with National Police Week, which honors fallen officers around the nation, the event at Third and C streets was the department’s 11th annual memorial for its seven officers who died in the line of duty.
“We hope to offer the families of those seven officers some comfort in knowing that we will not forget our heroes, that we will do everything we can to prevent any more names from being added and that we understand that the debt to the families can never be repaid,” said Assistant Oxnard Police Chief Scott Whitney.
Families of four of those seven officers - Constable William Kelley, Senior Officer John Adair and Officers James O’Brien and James Jensen - were among those in the audience.
Officer O’Brien’s son, Sean O’Brien, told the crowd the nation’s debt to law enforcement officers must never be forgotten.
“We all take it for granted that they come back safe and sound after their shift, then one day they don’t. That is a part of the heroism of law enforcement, knowing the most routine calls can suddenly turn violent,” said O’Brien, now a civilian member of the police department’s support staff.
O’Brien said the danger officers face each day inspires special loyalty in the law enforcement community, and its members care for the families of their fallen brethren. Just 7 years old when his father was shot dead while pursuing a multiple-murder suspect, O’Brien said many other Oxnard police officers took him under their wings.
“I lost my father, but what I got in return were so many father figures that helped guide and mold my life into what it is today,” O’Brien said, holding back tears.
Portions of Third and C streets were closed during the 20-minute memorial.
The first Oxnard police officer killed in the line of duty was Deputy Constable Andrew McNaughton in 1906. The last was Officer James Jensen, who died in 1996.
A total of 123 peace officers were killed in the line of duty around the nation in 2009, six of them in California, Whitney said.
The National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C., carries the names of the more than 18,600 officers killed in the line of duty in the U.S.
Copyright 2010 Ventura County Star