Rich Duran, retired sergeant and current reserve officer (LAPD Honor Guard), wrote to The Rotator:
“Due to the COVID-19 virus, all national law enforcement memorials were canceled in May. Reserve Officers Rich Duran and Vance Bjorklund, assigned to the Office of Support Services in the LAPD Honor Guard, honored the law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2019. There were 135 officers killed in the line of duty throughout the nation in 2019 (as per the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund) who were to be honored in Washington, D.C., in May. Two Los Angeles police officers were to be added to the National Memorial wall and honored: LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz (EOW: July 27, 2019) and Officer Esmeralda Ponce Ramirez (EOW: June 19, 2019).
“Officer Duran rode his bicycle with the ‘thin blue line’ flag in his neighborhood to honor the officers, and the Riverside County Fire Department Station 27 joined in with their emergency lights illuminated. The video can be seen here on the LAPRF Facebook page.
“Officer Bjorklund raised the flag at his home and played the bugle call ‘Taps’ to honor the officers who have given the ultimate sacrifice.”