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VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- An affectional ceremonial contiguous honored the lives of dozens of fallen constabulary officers.
The yearly Tulare County Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony occurred astatine the Peace Officer Memorial adjacent Burrel Avenue and Woodland Street successful Visalia.
The 30 fallen officers connected the Peace Officers Memorial were honored today.
Officers and loved ones laid these flowers down 1 by one.
We spoke to the surviving woman of Officer James Rapozo.
"I tin retrieve that time vividly, everything we did; we took down Christmas dawns that morning, ran errands, past helium had the leafage for SWAT, past we had to spell home. He had to get his patrol car and go," says Merrily Rapozo Wilson.
She recalls the past time she and her 2 children spent with her husband, James Rapozo.
It was January 9th, 1998... Merrily and her children drove down James, and said a prayer
"I asked God to bring him location safely, truthful I was huffy for a portion until idiosyncratic said to me, 'God did bring him home, conscionable not the 1 you wanted," expresses Merrily.
James was 33 and worked for the Visalia Police Department SWAT team.
He was changeable portion responding to a telephone and aboriginal died astatine the hospital.
Merrily remembers, "When I got there, I could spot the oversea of blue, and I knew I was precise arrogant of him. And past my adjacent thought was, 'What bash I archer the kids?'"
Her lad and girl were 4 and 6 astatine the time.
His brothers and sisters successful bluish stepped successful to help.
Twenty-six years later, they're inactive there.
James is among the 30 officers honored Wednesday greeting astatine the Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony.
The ceremonial included an End of Watch telephone and a riderless equine symbolizing the fallen heroes.
"It's truly important for families to recognize that the loved 1 volition nary longer beryllium here, nary longer sitting astatine the meal array and enjoying their small ones' sports games, that we are determination for them and we attraction for them," says Tulare County Sheriff, Mike Boudreaux.
The ceremonial hits location for Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux; those adjacent to him person besides made the eventual sacrifice for their community.
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux was moving connected the SWAT squad the time Rapozo was killed.
He finds comfortableness successful the community's enactment and watching James' lad travel successful his father's footsteps.
"My lad dove close successful aft his begetter and works for a region sheriff's department, and helium is simply a K-9 and SWAT, and helium is simply a grooming officer, and helium looks precisely similar his dad; my girl is simply a teacher, I'm precise arrogant of her," Merrily shares.
Wednesday's ceremonial comes up of National Peace Officers Memorial Day, which is connected May 15.
For quality updates, travel Kassandra Gutierrez connected Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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