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INTRODUCTION

hroughout my career, I have been exposed to officers killed in the line
Tof duty. My first recollection was when I was a reserve LAPD officer
working in Newton Division in the mid-seventies when an officer was
shot and killed during a routine traffic stop. Finally it dawned on me how
potentially dangerous it is to be a police officer.
During my time as District Attorney, I went to many active crime scene
investigations where police officers had been shot and killed or seriously
wounded. I strongly supported efforts to place special emphasis on the
prosecutions of those responsible for the murder of police officers.
When I joined the District Attorney’s Office as a brand new prosecutor,
I became emotionally involved in many of my cases. I was unprepared
to being exposed to the large number of persons committing murders,
rapes, robberies, serious assaults, and selling large amounts of narcotics.
Gradually a certain acceptance and cynicism set in as I was prosecuting
these cases on a regular basis. I became hardened to these crimes. I pros-
ecuted all these cases thoroughly and professionally but without becoming
personally or emotionally involved, with one exception.
The exception involves the murder of a police officer. To this day, I have
a strong emotional reaction when I hear about the murder of a police of-
ficer. I have known and worked with many peace officers during my career
as a prosecutor. When the job is done right, there is not a more admirable
nor noble profession, to protect and to serve the public.

“LESSONS LEARNED”

One purpose in writing this book was to memorialize and honor police
officers who have given their lives in service to their community and to
their profession. Although this book contains eight chapters involving the

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