Fund-Raising Starts for Monument to Sheriff’s Deputies Killed on Duty

Four sheriff’s deputies from the Lakewood station have been killed in the line of duty since 1960, and on Sunday many of their colleagues and family members gathered to start a fund-raising campaign to erect a black marble memorial in their honor.

The fund-raiser at Mayfair Park in Lakewood was supposed to be an upbeat vintage car show, featuring souped-up Chevys and Cadillacs, live music and hot dogs.

But memories of the four Lakewood deputies filled the park and the shooting death Saturday of Lancaster station Deputy Stephen Sorensen added another somber note to the day’s activities.

Sorensen’s death “is just a reminder of why we need to build this memorial,” Lt. Dave Fender said after introducing surviving members of the Lakewood deputies’ families on a portable stage lined with red, white and blue bunting. “When someone gives the ultimate sacrifice, they need to be remembered.”

By noon, more than $8,500 had been raised through raffle ticket sales and registration fees. Merchants from Artesia, Bellflower, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood and Paramount donated gift baskets, gift certificates, car engines, wheel rims and other prizes for a raffle.

No deputies from the Lancaster station attended because “they are in mourning,” said a sheriff’s law enforcement technician, Lily Lopez. “We know what they’re going through.”

The Lakewood sheriff’s deputies who are spearheading the memorial drive hope to eventually raise about $30,000 for a monument that would list the four slain deputies’ names on a slab of marble facing two marble benches.

The first Lakewood deputy killed was Lee Sawyer, a reserve officer killed in a traffic collision on Oct. 27, 1960.

Deputies Donald Schneider and Carl Wilson were shot to death while searching for suspects after a homicide on Jan. 4, 1973.

“I remember the day -- things etched in the mind, the two deputies coming to the door,” said Christy McNey, who was 9 when her father, Wilson, died. “It makes me proud to be here. He was a really good man.”

Her brother Ken Wilson, a pastor, added, “I’m glad someone said, ‘Something should be done,’ and we’re doing it now. My father loved to be outside, hunting, fishing. And no matter where we were, he was a cop.”

Deputy David Powell died Nov. 30 in a shooting while responding to a hostage situation at a house in Artesia.

His widow, Emma, held back tears behind her sunglasses Sunday as she remembered him. “Hopefully, we won’t have to add any more names on there,” she said.