GARDEN GROVE : 300 Gather to Honor City’s Slain Officers

A touching memorial service honoring five Garden Grove police officers who died in the line of duty drew nearly 300 people Thursday, many of them family, friends and colleagues of the officers.

In the past year, 157 police officers were killed in the United States, the highest total in five years, Garden Grove Sgt. Paul McInerny said.

“The lives of 157 families have been forever changed and challenged,” McInerny told the tearful crowd assembled for the city’s eighth annual tribute. “And it has happened right here in our community . . . in 1959, 1970, twice in 1980 and again in 1993.”

The ceremony took place at the Garden Grove police station where five stone markers bearing the officers’ names were planted.

Sgt. Myron Trapp, 33, was killed on Oct. 6, 1959, while attempting to cover his partner after an irate man upset with the street maintenance crew outside fired his rifle. Trapp, the father of three, joined the Garden Grove Police Department as one of its original 25 officers.

On May 29, 1970, Reserve Officer Andy Reese was hit by an impatient motorist while directing traffic at the annual Strawberry Festival Parade. He wore Badge No. 2 for 13 years as the city’s second officer after it was incorporated. He was 50.

His wife, Helen Wharton, who attended Thursday’s event, said she attends the service every year with Reese’s sister, Jean Tuttle. Hugging a bouquet of flowers, Wharton said: “This is the only time we get to see each other.”

Patrol Officer Donald Reed, 27, heralded as a narcotics expert and magician, was gunned down while making an arrest at a bar on June 7, 1980.

Just five months later, rookie Officer Michael Rainford, 23, was hit by a drunk driver on the freeway after pulling over a traffic violator on Nov. 7, 1980.

“His death tore up everyone around here,” said Sgt. Randy Tucker, who was Rainford’s supervisor and football teammate for the Police Department games.

Hanging from Tucker’s locker is a photo of the athletic Rainford soiled in mud from one of the department’s football games. “I’ve left it there for the last 15 years. It reminders that what happened to Michael could happen to anyone at any time.”

The most recent loss was Master Officer Howard Dallies, 36, who was felled by four gunshots while making a routine traffic stop.

Mary Dallies, his wife and mother of two, also attends the annual tribute. “This is a reminder of him,” Dallies said. “It’ll never replace him or all that we’ve lost. But at least we can let him know that we love him.”