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Burger King holds Fundraiser for Family of Randal Simmons
Sunday, February 24, 2008 @ 06:02 PM Author:
Shocked police line up to show support for slain LA SWAT member
By Thomas Watkins
Associated Press
Article Launched: 02/13/2008 03:25:13 PM PST
LOS ANGELES – Members of the thin blue line lined up by the hundreds today, waiting outside a fast-food restaurant to buy burgers in remembrance of a slain SWAT officer.
The day’s proceeds would go to the family of Officer Randal Simmons, who was gunned down in a house raid last week, becoming the first SWAT officer to die in the line of duty since the elite Los Angeles Police Department unit was formed in 1967.
Simmons’ partner, Officer James Veenstra, was wounded in the jaw during the confrontation in which five people were killed. Veenstra, 51, was released from a hospital Monday.
Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad technicians, canine handlers, patrol captains and plainclothes detectives were among those in the jumbo line, which by lunchtime snaked out the back of a downtown Burger King restaurant and down the length of a city block.
The officers, as well as members of the public and law enforcers from other agencies, all turned out.
Restaurant co-owner Ralph Cimmarusti estimated he would sell as many as 40,000 patties, raising about $100,000 in sales and donations for the Simmons family. The store typically sells about 1,000 burgers a day.
“We owe it to the LAPD family,” Cimmarusti said. The store donated staff time and the cost of the food.
It took about an hour for some in line to reach the counter. Capt. Lance Smith, who attended college in Washington state with Simmons in the 1970s, was among those who waited patiently for a Whopper. He said the department was still reeling from news of Simmons’ death. “You just don’t expect it to happen to some,” Smith said. “You had no vision of him ever being killed. He was superhuman.”
Simmons died Thursday when he entered the home of Edwin Rivera, 20, who had called police to report that he had killed his father and two brothers. The standoff ended when a police sniper killed Rivera.
Simmons, 51, was a 20-year SWAT veteran and one of the unit’s most senior members. He was known to fellow officers as “the rock” and was involved in church outreach programs including mentoring children.
His funeral is scheduled Friday.
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Community Holds Fundraisers For Slain SWAT Officer
Sunday, February 24, 2008 @ 04:02 PM Author:
Community Holds Fundraisers For Slain SWAT Officer
Thomas Watkins
Associated Press
February 23, 2008, 11:04 AM PST
A barbecue benefiting the family of slain Los Angeles Police Department Officer Randy Simmons will be held today from 11 a.m. through 4 p.m. at El Sereno Park, 4721 Klamath St.
Simmons, 51, was shot and killed Feb. 7 in a gun battle with a man who killed his father and two brothers inside a Winnetka home before killing himself. More than 10,000 people attended his funeral Feb. 15, the most for an LAPD funeral.
When the new SWAT headquarters opens later this year, it should be named for Simmons, the first SWAT officer to die in the line of duty, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said yesterday.
In a letter to the Police Commission, Villaraigosa said “it would be a fitting tribute to the life of Officer Simmons to rename the new home of the Metropolitan Division and SWAT team after this remarkable SWAT team officer and dedicated member of the community.”
The Metropolitan Division and SWAT are expected to move into the old Rampart Division station at 2710 W. Temple St. within the next six months.
Copyright © 2008, The Associated Press
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Game of honor, Contest benefits slain officer’s family
Sunday, February 24, 2008 @ 01:02 PM Author:
Game of honor
Contest benefits slain officer’s family
Lauren McSherry, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 02/23/2008 09:18:06 PM PST
COLTON – The Inland Empire Enforcers charged onto the Colton High School football field on Saturday, ready to trounce the visiting Los Angeles Police Department Centurions.But they quickly fell behind.
By the end of the first quarter, the Enforcers were down by two touchdowns.
That might have been because something was compelling the Centurions to play harder than usual.
Saturday was the first game for the Centurions since losing one of their own – SWAT Officer Randal Simmons, who played defensive back and wore No. 17.
Simmons was shot to death Feb. 7 when a police standoff in Winnetka escalated to a gunbattle that ended with the deaths of five people.
Simmons was the first LAPD SWAT officer killed in the line of duty.
In honor of Simmons, the LAPD Centurions emblazoned his number on their helmets. They also said they would donate the proceeds from this game and their next one to the family of the slain officer and the causes he volunteered for in his spare time.
They want to claim the 2008 National Public Safety Football Championship in honor of their fallen hero.A moment of silence was held for Simmons before kickoff.
“We finally had an opportunity to get together as a group and to go out and show the heart and spirit we have, which is indicative of the type of heart and spirit Officer Simmons had,” said Centurions coach Donald Payne, an LAPD detective.
Jack Cota, a directorfor the Los Angeles Protective League, said the game was only the first in a series of fundraisers planned in honor of Simmons, who mentored hundreds of inner city youths.
“He spent a lot of time as a cop,” Cota said, “but he spent as much time with his church, with his family, with these kids in L.A.”
Beaumont police Cpl. John Combado, who usually plays fullback for the Enforcers, cheered from the stands with his wife, Michelle.
The money raised at Enforcers games usually goes to the Special Olympics, but this game was different.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Combado said.
The Enforcers team draws from a number of San Bernardino County law-enforcement agencies, including the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department as well as the Redlands, Chino and Colton police departments.
In the fourth quarter, the Enforcers scored a touchdown with two minutes remaining.
But it wasn’t enough. The Centurions won 27-16. Afterward, both teams gathered on the 50-yard line and held a prayer for Simmons. Then the Enforcers presented their opponents with their share of the money raised in his memory – a check for $2,500.
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