Slain officer recalled as ‘American hero’

Man in country illegally charged in fatal shooting

SAN FRANCISCO — A California police officer who was killed in the line of duty was hailed Saturday as a “Fiji-born American hero” who made the ultimate sacrifice for his adopted country.

At a funeral held for Cpl. Ronil Singh, mourners remembered the 33-year-old officer as a hard-working immigrant who worked his way up to become an officer in the small town of Newman.

Singh “stood so much for what is right in our world and yet unfortunately was taken too soon from us by what is wrong in our world,” Modesto police Officer Jeff Harmon said during the service in a Modesto church.

He “probably more than anything else wanted to be home on Christmas night with his wife and his young son, but instead made a selfless choice to serve all of his community knowing that there are many more than just his own family that needed his protection that night,” Harmon said.

Singh was shot to death in the early hours of Dec. 26 after he pulled over a suspected drunken driver. The gunman fled, and a two-daylong manhunt led to the arrest of a man who authorities said was in the country illegally and was preparing to flee to Mexico.

Gustavo Arriaga Perez, also 33, has since been charged with murder.

The case has rekindled a debate over California’s sanctuary law that limits cooperation by local authorities with federal immigration authorities. President Donald Trump has cited Singh’s killing to call for tougher border security amid a fight with congressional Democrats over funding for a border wall. The impasse has forced a partial government shutdown that entered a 15th day Saturday.

At his funeral, however, Singh’s brother and colleagues focused on his achievements and playful personality.

Singh grew up in a Fijian farming town and emigrated to central California in 2003. He joined the 12-member Newman police department in 2011 after attending police academy and serving as a volunteer, animal control officer and code enforcement officer at other agencies in the region.

The Fijian ambassador to the United States, Naivakarurubalavu Solo Mara, said Singh made his mark in his adopted country and called him a “Fiji-born American hero.”

Noah Berger The Associated Press Newman police officers carry the body of their slain colleague Cpl. Ronil “Ron” Singh during his funeral Saturday in Modesto, Calif. Prosecutors have charged Gustavo Perez Arriaga, who was in the United States illegally, with Singh’s killing.