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Randal D. Simmons Park Dedication
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 12:06 AM Author:
REMEMBERING A FALLEN LAPD OFFICER Renaming of West Valley Park in honor of Officer Randal D. Simmons
LOS ANGELES – The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks in partnership with Councilmember Dennis Zine renamed West Valley Park as “LAPD Swat Officer Randal D. Simmons Park” in memory of the fallen LAPD SWAT officer on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 11:00 a.m.
The ceremony included the unveiling of the new park sign as well as remarks by Jon Kirk Mukri, Department of Recreation and Parks General Manager, Councilmember Dennis Zine, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Assistant Chief Michael Moore, Deputy Chief Kirk Alanbese and Captain John Incontro. Mrs. Lisa Simons also spoke at the ceremony.
More than 50 officers from the LAPD Metro Division formed a ‘blue line’ and four mounted patrol officers also attended. City Controller Wendy Greuel and Councilman Tom LaBonge (CD4) were also present.
Officer Randal D. Simmons, a 27-year veteran of the LAPD, was shot during a standoff that injured another officer and claimed the lives of five civilians on Thursday, February 7, 2008. Officer Simmons is the first SWAT officer to die in the line of duty. Officer Simmons committed much of his time to helping and comforting people in urban neighborhoods including Watts, Hacienda Village, Compton and Carson. He was an ordained minister at Glory Christian Fellowship International in Carson, California. He was instrumental in developing programs and Christian events for at-risk youth such as the annual “Greatest Toy Giveaway” which provided toys and gifts to over 1,000 children during the holiday season. He is survived by his wife Lisa, son Matthew and daughter Gabrielle.
“LAPD Officer Randal D. Simmons Park” will serve as a tribute to his personal sacrifice and his dedication to the community. West Valley Park is located at 6731 Wilbur Avenue in the Reseda community. The 8.38 acre park includes children’s play area, walking paths, picnic tables and landscaping.
http://lapdblog.typepad.com/lapd_blog/2010/01/remembering-a-fallen-lapd-officer-.html
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Matt Simmons honors father through football
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 @ 11:11 AM Author:
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — He is a captain on the Bishop Montgomery Football team — you have probably heard of Matthew Simmons’s father, Randal.
Randy Simmons was the squad leader and is the only Los Angeles police officer killed during a SWAT operation.
“I miss a lot of things about my dad,” Simmons said. “Just him being there for me, we talked a lot in the car and I always miss him telling me things about God, and how God works and the reasons why we’re on this earth.”
You don’t have to look very far to see Matthew has a God-given gift to play football. The sport connected Matthew with his father, just as a uniform and gun connects a police officer to the community.
“I have limited knowledge about the details, intricate details about football,” Matthew’s mother Lisa said. “I try to play dad by sitting here with Matthew and watching football with him, and he goes ‘Mom this is defense, not offense.'”
Lisa Simmons says that a letter Randy wrote to Matthew on the day that he died may have been a premonition of what was to come.
“The day Randy died Matthew was upstairs and was reading this letter,” Lisa Simmons said. “And I said ‘Matt, what are you reading?’ Tears were just pouring out of his eyes and I said, ‘What are you reading?’ and he showed me the letter and I was just shaking all over.”
The letter said: “Things to do to make it to college.”
The letter included workouts that Randy used to become a Division 1 football player at Washington State University.
“It just talked about all this stuff about football, like what he really wanted me to do,” Simmons said. “What he was saying, seemed like he was about to go away really soon.”
The letter ended saying that Randy would always be there for Matthew and that he loved him very much.
Matthew was just 15 years old when his father died. The tragedy and shock could have forced him away from football, but instead it fueled his passion.
Matthew changed his number to 17 in honor of his father.
Washington State has retired Randal Simmons’s jersey number — and they will be getting his son in the fall.
“I know my dad would be proud of me,” Matthew said. “I just feel bad sometimes because he’s not there to congratulate me.”
(Copyright ©2011 KABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Vote Passed for Renaming Park After Slain SWAT Officer
Thursday, December 4, 2008 @ 01:12 PM Author:
LOS ANGELES — A proposal to name a Reseda park after the first Los Angeles Police Department SWAT officer to die in the line of duty was approved Wednesday by a City Council committee.
Officer Randy Simmons died Feb. 7 during a standoff with a young man who killed his father and two brothers inside a Winnetka home. The 20-year-old was shot and killed by officers.
The Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee approved the recommendation to rename West Valley Park after Simmons and sent the proposal to the full council for approval.
Councilman Dennis Zine, an LAPD reserve officer, introduced the motion.
“Officer Simmons always loved children, he was a SWAT officer with a huge heart, and it is appropriate that a children’s play area in West Valley Park was just named in his honor,” Zine’s motion says.
“The selfless devotion to community which Officer Simmons maintained for many years is deserving of even greater recognition. It is appropriate that in addition to the children’s play area, the entire West Valley Park be also named in his memory.”
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Vote-Passed-for-Renaming-Park-After-Slain-SWAT-Officer.html
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