Honoring Our Fallen and Their Families

On May 7 and 8, the law enforcement community gathered in Sacramento for the 41st annual California Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony. Always a somber occasion, this year’s event took on added significance and poignancy with the addition of 15 names to the monument. Ten of those officers were killed in the line of duty in 2016, more than double the number in 2015, while five officers were enrolled from previous years. From the state’s southwest tip of San Diego County to the northeast county of Modoc, these officers risked and lost their lives serving the citizens of California. We honor their sacrifice, promise to take care of their families and, most of all, pledge to never forget. 

Officers from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, which lost Deputy Dennis Wallace in 2016, led the mounted units.

Officers salute from the Capitol steps

Palm Springs P.D. Officer Lesley Zerebny’s husband, Zachary, carries their daughter, Cora. Cora was 4 months old when her mother, who had just returned from maternity leave, was killed

Honor guards from the departments that lost officers in 2016 carry the flag to the monument

The California Highway Patrol’s Mounted Unit carried flags for the ceremony. CHP Officer Nathan Taylor was killed in the line of duty on March 13, 2016

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Senior Deputy and PORAC President Mike Durant with his office’s honor guard. PORAC sponsored the family of Tulare Deputy Scott Ballantyne (EOW: February 10, 2016) for the service, and Durant served as facilitator

Palm Springs P.D. Officer Jose “Gil” Vega’s family is escorted to the ceremony. The father of eight was just weeks from retirement when he and Officer Lesley Zerebny were shot and killed October 8, 2016, while responding to a domestic disturbance call

 Help support our fallen officers’ families by donating at camemorial.org

On the Cover: The Carlisle Family

Pictured on this month’s cover is the surviving family of Oakland Police Officer Paul Carlisle (EOW: December 1, 2015). Surrounding the family on the steps of the State Capitol are many of the large contingent of Oakland police officers who attended this year’s ceremony. Officer Carlisle was one of five names from prior years added to the Memorial on May 8; the other four were killed in the distant past.

Officer Carlisle’s story epitomizes the service and sacrifice that has always existed among the corps of California’s peace officers. On November 23, 1976, Officer Carlisle was on duty in downtown Oakland when he conducted a car stop and was shot by the suspect. Officer Carlisle was paralyzed from the upper part of his chest down. Over the next 39 years, he was in and out of the hospital and endured numerous surgeries, constant doctors’ appointments and daily in-home care. He was never again able to lead a normal life. Officer Carlisle ultimately died from his injuries in 2015, becoming Oakland’s 53rd officer lost in the line of duty.

Amazingly, the Carlisle family’s service to California didn’t stop with Paul. Paul’s son Andrei followed in his father’s footsteps. Veteran Police Officer Andrei Carlisle serves with the Chico Police Department, which also honored the Carlisle family by sending a contingent of officers to the ceremony.

Officer Carlisle and his family could only be honored in such a fashion due to the dedicated advocacy of PORAC and the California Peace Officers’ Memorial Foundation. These organizations support the survivors and ensure that we fulfill our sacred promise to never forget our own. 

Submitted by Barry Donelan
PORAC Director-at-Large
Oakland Police Officers’ Association