Ceremony for fallen officers returning
EL CENTRO – Imperial County Sheriff ’s Office Deputy Julian Abraham Partin died on Feb. 11, 1920. Deputy Anthony Joel Redondo died on June 26, 2021. Despite more than a century between their passings, the two men have something in common: they are the first and last of the 44 law enforcement officers based in Imperial County to give their lives in the line of duty.
A dedicated group of their colleagues has made it their mission to ensure those sacrifices are not relegated to the dustbin of history and that the public understands the value of that.
“It’s remembering it’s a dangerous job and people get killed. I know someone would do it for me if I were on the list,” said Wes Boerner, a retired
California Highway Patrol sergeant who is the de facto head of the committee staging the annual Imperial Valley Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony.
The event’s 14th installment will be held at 7 p.m. on May 6 in front of the Imperial County courthouse at 939 W. Main St. El Centro. The solemn remembrance will include a fallen-officer roll call, comments from surviving family members, flag- folding/rifle salute, Taps/Amazing Grace performed live, a riderless horse representing the fallen, and a flyover by the Sheriff ’s Aero Squadron.
Boerner stressed the event is open to the public and that there is value in attending, stating, “It has a lot of meaning. Even if you have nothing to do with law enforcement, you’ll be affected by it. The riderless horse, it puts it in perspective. It’s a little dramatic seeing it.”
Beginning the morning of May 6, there will be a flag posted on the courthouse lawn for each fallen officer. During the ceremony, 44 current officers will be called to the courthouse steps to represent those who gave their lives.
“I try to stand in for that officer that doesn’t have anyone to show up for them,” Boerner added of the importance of the ceremony for him.
Asked of the value to the public, he said, “Not everyone who goes to work thinks it might be their last day. Most people don’t think about it. Officers do. But you still go to work, still make that stop.”
The effort got started in 2008 following an officer death and the first event was held the next year.
“Several agencies were meeting as a group to do a memorial. We said ‘ Let’s do it right and do something next year.’ We came up with an order of events and had the first one in 2009,” Boerner said.
Now, representatives from about a dozen agencies, plus retirees, meet for several months to script every detail. A tradition is to present an American flag to a survivor of one of the fallen during the rifle salute and in the weeks prior to the ceremony each local agency flies it.
Since tragically three officers have given their lives since the last full ceremony in 2019 (2020 was canceled and 2021 was a motorcade only due to the COVID-19 pandemic), three flags will be given out this year.
The last three deaths included El Centro Police Officer Efren Coronel, who contracted COVID on the job and passed June 3, 2020; U.S. Border Patrol Agent Alejandro Flores-Banuelos, who died March 15, 2021, after being struck by a vehicle, and Redondo, who was killed in a traffic collision.
Prior to those, the last on- duty death was in 2009.
While there are several permanent local memorials for members of the military killed in action, which Boerner said he absolutely supports, he noted he and other members of the committee lament there is none for law enforcement. They hope to change that.
The Pioneers Museum east of Imperial could be the site, so Boerner said the next step is raising funds, a challenge since an estimate is the plans alone could cost $10,000.