NORTH HOLLYWOOD : Officer Receives Lots of Support Following Fire

Jim O’Riley got off the phone in a state of shock. His neighbor had just informed him that his home in Frazier Park, south of the Grapevine, had burned to the ground. What he did next was the only thing that made sense to him at that point: He finished watching his son’s karate tournament.

“I was in shock, but I was there for my son,” said the 19-year-veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department. “There was nothing I could do for my house.”

That attitude shows the kind of man that O’Riley is and explains the lengths to which people will go to help him, say his commanding sergeant and a resident who has worked with O’Riley on a Neighborhood Watch program.

The North Hollywood Police Station and community residents have taken up a collection for O’Riley, the contact officer for the watch program in Studio City and Sherman Oaks. As of Dec. 22, they had raised $17,000 in the days following the Dec. 11 arson.

O’Riley said he is truly grateful for the support, and said the LAPD has been like a family to him in his time of need. Chief Willie L. Williams sent him a personal check for $750, and the Police Memorial Fund is paying for a motel room where O’Riley and his family are staying.

O’Riley believes the fire was set by people linked to drug dealing and former friends of his teen-age daughter, who he said is in recovery now. He has no proof, but says he angered the dealers by ordering them off his property when they came to visit his daughter, and getting Kern County sheriff’s deputies to monitor their activities. Three weeks ago, he said, his daughter told him they were bent on retaliation.

It has been a rough year for O’Riley and his family, which includes his wife, Jan, their four natural children and a foster daughter, Lisa. His fellow officers had already been helping them out with blood donations for Lisa, who suffered internal bleeding related to a defective liver, and who is awaiting a liver transplant.

Sgt. Bill Martin, O’Riley’s supervising officer, and Sheri Herman, a civilian watch-program leader, heaped praise on O’Riley for his police and community work.

“He’s a real motivator, as well as having a heart of gold,” said Herman. Martin said crime in O’Riley’s area has gone down significantly in the two years that the officer has been leading the Neighborhood Watch program.

To help the O’Rileys, checks payable to East Valley PALS may be sent to the North Hollywood Police Station, 11480 Tiara St., North Hollywood 91601, Attn: Community Relations Office.

“The LAPD and the Neighborhood Watch residents have been tremendous, unbelievable,” O’Riley said of his friends’ efforts. “It’s humbling. How do you thank people when they do that?”