Police officer murdered after responding to routine call for help

Today in Whittier, Calif., one officer was killed and another was wounded as they responded to a motor vehicle accident involving a gang member and a stolen vehicle.

When officers arrived on scene to provide assistance, the gang member open fired killing one officer and seriously wounding another. The suspect was also wounded in the shootout.

According to Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Lt. John Corina, the officers were responding at the time to a report of a traffic collision in the area. "It's extremely tragic. You've got a couple of officers who just responded to a traffic accident, and they think they're there to help out people involved in a traffic accident. Next thing they know, they got this guy shooting at them. He shoots both of them and kills one of them."

When you go home tonight, please take a moment to remember this officer and the family as they mourn. Then take a moment and think of all those lost in the line of duty and the burden of sadness those families will always carry. Think of what he and every other officer go through every day to protect your way of life. They are the knights in blue armor, and we cannot survive without them.

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