Officers, Friends Honor Slain Deputy

Thirty-three-year-old Kent Hintergardt figured he had the answer. If he was going to be a cop and survive, he would quit the dangerous, unpredictable beats patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and work for the sheriff in Riverside County.

And if anything impressed his fellow deputies during the last two years, it was how he refused to let the job get to him. He sloughed off the bad days by playing with his young daughter and spending time with his wife, Linda. He burned off the anxiety of his profession with some rough-and-tumble water skiing on his days off.

On Sunday, he responded to a domestic dispute call in Temecula. And even before he could pull his gun out of its holster, he was shot in the head and killed.

More than 2,000 people, including about 1,200 fellow officers from throughout Southern California, paid tribute to Hintergardt as he was laid to rest Thursday.

Hintergardt’s death, said Riverside County Sheriff Cois Byrd, represented the loss of a husband, a father, a fellow deputy and “a loss to the community of a fine young man who had his life ahead of him but lost it in an instant.”

At services at Harvest Christian Fellowship, speakers reflected on Hintergardt’s love for his wife and child, and his newfound spirituality.

“You can’t say you’ve lost someone if you know where he is,” said the Rev. Greg Laurey, “and I know where he is: in God’s presence.”

Still, some officers who filled the church quietly wept; others put their arms around the shoulders of those sitting beside them. They were somber; some appeared anguished.

Sheriff’s Department Chaplain Fred Huscher addressed the unspoken fears of officers and deputies wondering if they would share Hintergardt’s fate. He talked of colleagues “finding a seat empty in the briefing room,” and said in his prayer, “We need you, God, to fight through the fears and uncertainties that lie ahead.”

One of Hintergardt’s closest friends, Deputy Kevin Koehler, spoke admiringly of his fallen comrade, his passion for landscaping, for water sports, his radio-controlled model airplane, and his love for his wife, Linda, and 16-month-old daughter, Marissa.

About the time Hintergardt was killed last Sunday--confronting a man who shot and killed his girlfriend, then minutes later killed himself--Linda had gone to check on Marissa because of strange noises in the bedroom, Koehler said.

The child was only giggling--as if, at that very moment, she was being tickled by her dad, Linda Hintergardt told Koehler.

Peace officers said they attended Thursday’s services because of the bonds they share. “We’re all brothers and sisters. It’s a unity unlike anything I’ve felt before,” said Moreno Valley Police Sgt. Judy Paltsits, who did not know Hintergardt.

The funeral procession to Crestlawn Memorial Park five miles away took 45 minutes. One hundred and fifty motorcycles and 300 patrol cars representing agencies from San Diego to Fresno, plus family members and friends, made the procession. One knot of waving youngsters along the way hoisted a hastily made cardboard sign that read, “We Love You.”

At the sun-drenched cemetery, seven riflemen fired three volleys. From a nearby hillside, a bugler sounded taps. The strains of bagpipes playing “Amazing Grace” were soon drowned out by a formation of five Sheriff’s Department helicopters overhead.

As they approached the grave site, one broke formation and veered to the right, disappearing into the late afternoon sun, in memory of the fallen officer.