City Raising Funds for Police Memorial

Add Tustin to the handful of Orange County cities that are currently raising funds to erect a memorial for fallen heroes.

The Police Department wants to raise $100,000 to build a police officers memorial in front of the department’s entrance in honor of the late Tustin Police Officer Waldron Karp and future fallen officers.

“We need to make sure we recognize people that make the ultimate sacrifice,” said Tustin Sgt. Mark Bergquist. “I think the time is right. The public overwhelmingly supports the Police Department and what we are trying to do.”

Officer Karp died Jan. 7, 1973, a month after he was shot twice in front of a house by a man carrying a rifle. Karp responded to the incident after a Tustin resident called police stating that a man with a rifle was at her front door.

The memorial will depict a life-size kneeling officer coming from the funeral of a comrade, holding a folded American flag. The memorial is scheduled to be unveiled next year, on the anniversary of Karp’s death.

Anaheim, Cypress, Orange, Westminster and Garden Grove have also recently erected memorials or are raising funds to build one. A Vietnam War memorial is in the works in Westminster, and Cypress installed a police officers memorial in February. A veterans monument was unveiled in Anaheim in December, and Orange is raising funds to erect a veterans memorial fountain in November. Garden Grove built a police officers memorial in May 1998.

About $40,000 has already been pledged for the Tustin memorial, donated by Police Department personnel and through employee payroll deductions to be taken out for the rest of the year.

“We feel we have made a huge chunk already,” said Tustin Lt. Mike Shanahan. “I think it is a good indicator of how serious we are about it.”

The Police Department will continue to raise funds by selling various products, including a commemorative brass coin with a picture of the kneeling officer and the words: “It’s not how these officers died that made them heroes, it’s how they lived.” T-shirts, artist renderings of the memorial and stuffed bears with a Medal of Valor on the chest will also be sold.

Councilman Thomas Saltarelli said he wholeheartedly supports the memorial and hopes that many residents and business owners feel the same way.

“I think a memorial will serve two purposes,” he said. “To honor our fallen officers and, secondly, to remind the people of the valuable services that our Police Department provides for us on a daily basis.”

Bergquist, who was one of the leading forces behind building a memorial, said he was touched when he first saw the artist’s rendition of the memorial, which is on display inside the station’s lobby.

“It’s emotional when you see it the first time,” he said. “You talk about it. You think about it. And when you first see your ideas [on paper] for the first time, it’s a heart-tugger.”

Marissa Espino can be reached at (714) 966-5879.