Police Say Phone Solicitations in Memory of Slain Officer Are Bogus

Police have launched an investigation based on complaints about a telephone solicitor who is fraudulently using the La Habra Police Assn. name to garner donations in memory of a Fullerton police officer killed in the line of duty, authorities said.

Sgt. Phil Stufflebean said the caller, who does not represent the police association, identifies himself as “Officer Richards” and asks for donations in memory of Officer Tommy De La Rosa, who was killed last month during an undercover drug operation in Downey. The caller then offers to pick up the check in person within an hour.

Fullerton police two weeks ago warned of a similar caller soliciting businesses throughout the county and claiming to represent the California Peace Officers Memorial Foundation. No such organization exists.

The case that launched the La Habra fraud investigation involves a resident who agreed to donate only if a uniformed officer picked up the check, then was plagued throughout the evening with threatening and obscene phone calls believed to be placed by the same man, Stufflebean said.

“This is a totally bogus and fraudulent operation,” Stufflebean said. “We have no current solicitation in any manner going on in the Police Department at this time. The bad part is, we don’t know how many people have been duped.”

La Habra police have received five calls since Wednesday from citizens asking if the solicitation is valid. Neither the La Habra nor Fullerton police departments have an officer named Richards, police said.

Seven men and one woman were charged in connection with De La Rosa’s death and a pending cocaine investigation. De La Rosa was shot five times when gunmen opened fire as he stepped from a van.