A moving Kings County tribute to its fallen law enforcement officers brings tears

Every year law enforcement officers and the public gather at the Government Center – the site of the Kings County Peace Officers’ Memorial – to salute and honor those law enforcement personnel killed in the line of duty.

Retired Avenal Police Chief Jack Amoroso delivered the formal address at Wednesday's Peace Officers' Memorial Ceremony.

This year the California Highway Patrol officiated the solemn ceremony as local officers and officials stood silently by at attention. Kings County’s law enforcement agencies share hosting duties from year to year. Lemoore hosted the ceremony last year.

CHP Commander Lieutenant Don Tripp opened the ceremony followed by the singing of the National Anthem, an invocation from Lemoore Police Chaplain Gene Pensiero, a police officer’s prayer from Kings County Sheriff David Robinson, a salute to Kings County’s fall heroes and then a roll call of those officers struck down across California in 2016 by Lemoore Chief Darrell Smith.

"The memorial ceremony is an opportunity to honor and pay tribute to those law enforcement officers who lost their lives in 2016 as well as those officers in Kings County that are forever memorialized on the Kings County Memorial Monument," said Smith. The Lemoore chief said that 12 California officers lost their lives in 2016 and 135 officers lost their lives nationwide.

Perhaps the most emotional remarks were delivered by longtime law enforcement icon Jack Amoroso, a 36-year veteran of law enforcement in Kings County, whose service included 31 years in the Kings County Sheriff’s Office and five years as the City of Avenal’s first police chief.

Kings County Peace Officers' Memorial

Solomon Gladden - 1893

Fred Bird - 1895

Dean Esquibel - CHP 1985

William Lehn - Fresno PD 1994

James Rapozo - KCSO, Hanford PD, Visalia PD 1998

Allen Sharra - KCSO 1999

Lemoore Police Officer Jonathan Moritiz served in Wednesday's Honor Guard.

Amoroso reflected on the death of a friend of his, Visalia Police Officer James Rapozo, a SWAT officer who died in a raid in 1998. He was the first Visalia officer to die in the line of duty since 1946.

“The murder of James Rapozo hit my family hard,” said a tearful Amoroso. “The next few days we spent counseling the family.” He said over 1,000 officers attended Rapozo’s funeral, a tremendous sign of respect for the fallen officer.

Rapozo also worked for the Kings County Sheriff’s Office and the Hanford Police Department before transferring to Visalia. His name is indeed etched on the Kings County Memorial.

The tribute ended with a 21-gun salute from the Naval Air Station Lemoore Honor Guard and a benediction from Pensiero.