Ceremony honors fallen officers
The solemn tolling of a commemorative bell rang out 39 times Friday night at the El Centro courthouse during the ninth annual Imperial Valley Law Enforcement Memorial.
Each bell toll represented the life of a law enforcement official who died in the line of duty here in the Valley since 1920.
Following some introductory activities, master of ceremonies and El Centro Police Chief Eddie Madueño took the podium as the first of the event’s invited speakers. After recognizing the 11 officers statewide and the 144 officers nationwide who had lost their lives in the line of duty in 2016, as well as the 43 additional officers who died this year nationwide, Madueño touched upon the current conditions that the law enforcement community often finds themselves working in and the dangers of having disillusionment creep in.
Those conditions included the constant criticism that is leveled at the law enforcement community by the media, the increasingly strained relationship between police and their communities, the “haters” whose minds are set against the police, as well as the thinning numbers of those pursuing a law enforcement career, Madueño said.
“Make no mistake about it, we are weathering a fierce storm,” Madueño said. “But I rely on my faith. I know that we will come out of the storm stronger than ever.”
The dozens of law enforcement officials present were also reminded by Madueño that their profession has weathered such storms before, and as long as they continue to do the right thing, they will prevail, with or without the presence of vocal supporters.
“As long as we stand by our principles that pendulum will swing back to the side of righteousness,” he said.
During his remarks, county Superior Court Judge Marco Nuñez also highlighted the courageousness of those who would place their lives in danger on behalf of the general community.
Nuñez also paid homage to Imperial County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Julian Abraham Partin, who was shot and killed by a bar owner on Feb, 11 1920, tragically becoming the first recorded death of a local law enforcement officer.
“At the end of the day our fallen heroes remind us that we are given only one life to live and that it may end in an instant,” Nuñez said. “Yet is said that those who live in hearts they leave behind never truly die.”
The hour-long law enforcement memorial was also full of tradition and symbolism, from the initial arrival of the caravan of law enforcement vehicles that kicked off the event, the presence of a riderless horse, to the folding of the American flag that had flown at half-mast throughout the ceremony.
Calexico Police Officer Jorge Ruiz said he was honored to have rung the ceremonial bell in memory of fallen Calexico Officer Adrian Cordova, who was killed on Nov. 1, 2007 in an automobile accident in Holtville while he and another officer were returning to Calexico following a training exercise. Despite the inherent dangers of the job, Ruiz said he pursued such a career so that he can be of help to the general public.
By being so accessible, Ruiz said he hopes the public, and in particular those who are skeptical of law enforcement, can learn to confide in him and his fellow officers.
“That’s one of the reasons I wanted to become law enforcement, to change the perspective of people in the community,” Ruiz said.