GARDEN GROVE : A Service for Officers Slain on Job

For Sgt. Paul McInerny, Thursday’s memorial service honoring Garden Grove police officers killed in the line of duty held a special significance.

Almost 10 years ago, McInerny, Officer Donald Reed and two reserve officers went to the Cripple Creek Bar to arrest a narcotics suspect. The incident turned violent when the suspect pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and opened fire, killing Reed and wounding the two reserve officers and two customers. McInerny was not hurt.

“A whole bunch of things went through my head,” McInerny said. “You’re the only officer who walks away unhurt, and you start to wonder why.”

Surrounded by honor guards and four American flags, McInerny told the stories of Reed and three other police officers lost in the line of duty.

Most who attended the third annual ceremony in front of the Garden Grove Police Department were relatives, colleagues or friends.

“By being here, you give the police officers today a lift,” McInerny told the group of about 100 people.

The feeling was reflected among the family members of the three other officers who attended the ceremony.

“I’m very proud,” said Garden Grove resident Helen Rose Wharton, whose husband, reserve Officer Andy Reese, was killed in 1970 when he was struck by a car as he directed traffic during Garden Grove’s Strawberry Festival Parade.

Also at the ceremony was Lori Rainford, whose husband, Michael Rainford, was killed in 1980 when he was struck by a drunk driver as he was issuing a citation to another motorist on a ramp leading to the Garden Grove Freeway.

“It’s real hard,” Lori Rainford said. “It makes you feel that people do remember--they don’t forget.”

She attended the ceremony with her daughter, Melissa, 7, and son, Michael, 9. She was pregnant with Michael when her husband was killed.

“It’s nice to have these kind of services so he knows,” she said. “He has a lot of pictures around the house. He knows a lot of guys around the department.”

Police Chief John Robertson unveiled a new plaque to honor the officers, which will be placed on stone markers bearing each of their names.

“These people made the ultimate sacrifice,” Robertson said. “As long as there’s a Garden Grove, no one’s going to forget that.”

Robertson’s awareness of the dangers of police work came early in his life. His father, Ed, was the best friend of Sgt. Myron Trapp when both were among the first officers to join the Garden Grove Police Department in the late 1950s.

In 1959, when John Robertson was only 7, Trapp was shot and killed in the line of duty.

After the ceremony, John Robertson told Trapp’s mother, Ruth Cawthon, 82, of Costa Mesa, that he remembered his father going to Trapp’s grave every year to remember the all the good times they had.

“There’s a strong tie between police officers,” said Trapp’s brother, Harold, 67. “You kind of unite to help tolerate the pressure. . . . It’s like a giant brotherhood.”