Behind the Badge
In five days and over 630 miles, members of the Westminster Police Department will ride to remember the fallen.
Fifteen riders on May 9 will embark on the annual five-day journey from the State Peace Officer Memorial in Sacramento to the Westminster Police Officer’s Memorial to honor peace officers killed in the line of duty and raise funds for their families.
Members of the Westminster Police Department and some civilian supporters will embark on a five-day journey from Sacramento to Westminster as part of the annual Memorial Ride. Fifteen riders will trek 630 miles to honor officers killed in the line of duty and raise funds for their families. Photo courtesy the Westminster Police Department.
WPD’s Code 3 cycling team has been training for months and has held several events leading up to the race to benefit the memorial foundation.
In February, an instructor at YAS Fitness in Costa Mesa organized an indoor cycling event that brought in $2,000.
A fitness instructor leads a spinning class to raise money for the annual Memorial Ride. The February event brought in $2,000.
Code 3 on Thursday will also hold a bake sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the police department, 8200 Westminster Blvd.
Westminster police in 2004 formed a memorial committee after suffering their first in-the-line-of-duty losses since the department was founded in 1958.
Lt. Ron Weber, Sr. died on June 6, 2003 after a long work-related illness.
Weber served the community for 24 years in various assignments including narcotics, special investigations and SWAT.
He was awarded the Medal of Merit for a life-saving rescue of a victim of a traffic collision. He was also voted supervisor of the year by his peers in 2002.
Just seven months later, on Jan. 29, 2004, Officer Steve Phillips was fatally injured in an on-duty traffic crash.
Phillips was a highly skilled traffic investigator who served as a mentor for new motor officers.
Sgt. Marcus Frank is the third Westminster officer to die in the line of duty in the department’s history.
Frank in 1998 received the prestigious Frederick Milton Award by the National Gang Crime Research Center for gang research and education on Asian gangs. He trained on Asian criminal enterprises in 21 states, four Canadian provinces and in Vietnam.
He lost his battle with a work-related illness on Oct. 10, 2007.
The WPD memorial remembers these three men who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their community.
The May bicycle ride will remember these officers and the hundreds of other fallen peace officers across California.
The Westminster Police Officer’s Memorial remembers officers who died while serving their community. Photo courtesy the Westminster Police Department.
The Code 3 cycling team riders are:
Westminster PD:
Deputy Chief Dan Schoonmaker
Cmdr. Al Panella
Sgt. Bill Drinnin
Sgt. Kevin MacCormick
Officer Jeremy Fletcher
Officer Mike Gradilla
Officer Paul Walker
Animal Control Officer Roland Perez
Reserve Officer John Phan
Irvine PD:
Officer Dale Lawrence
Civilians:
Kevin Beach
Scott McMaster
Will Whippler
