SWAT team to run in Simmons tribute

A team of 30 SWAT officers will run a torch relay during Sunday’s Los Angeles Marathon in tribute to Randal Simmons, the SWAT officer killed Feb. 7 in a shootout in Winnetka.

Simmons’ 15-year-old son, Matt, will run the final 1.2 miles with the officers.

They hope to raise money to fund Matt’s education and that of his 12-year-old sister, Gabrielle, who will stand at the finish line with Simmons’ widow, Lisa.

“Every single road that we’re running on, Randy worked as a uniformed officer or he worked there as a SWAT officer,” Sgt. Charles Buttitta, Simmons’ supervisor, said Friday.

“So he provided protection for all the people that live on those roads, the businesses that operate on those roads. This is a way for us to honor that.”

Race organizers set a head start of 19 minutes 38 seconds for the elite women’s field. The first person across the finish line will earn a $100,000 bonus, with an additional $20,000 for the men’s and women’s divisions.

The rest of the field will start at 8:15 a.m. at Universal Studios, preceded by the wheelchair division start at 7:55. The bike tour will start at 5:45 at Figueroa Street, near the Coliseum.

-- Helene Elliott