Honoring Valor
Under gray skies, hundreds of uniformed peace officers gathered Thursday at the Plaza of the Flags in Santa Ana to pay tribute to Orange County’s law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
Officers representing each of the 44 slain since 1912 marched slowly along the rain-soaked plaza in front of the county’s memorial for fallen officers. A riderless horse followed the procession.
This year’s 14th annual Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony commemorated the death of Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Riches, the sole Orange County officer slain last year.
Riches, who would have turned 35 Thursday, had his name added to the memorial behind Santa Ana’s criminal courthouse.
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From Kevin P. Casey and Jack Leonard, Times staff writers, and Times wire services.
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