Dignitaries Remember Fallen Palo Alto Officers

A tribute today to law enforcement officers killed while on duty within Santa Clara County will include remarks by dignitaries and a reading of the names of fallen officers going back to 1862, a sheriff's office spokesman said.

Family members of about 30 of the 39 officers who have been killed while on duty in the county plan to attend the annual Peace Officers Memorial, hosted by the sheriff's office, sheriff's spokesman Deputy Kurtis Stenderup said.

"We reached out to every family on the list," Stenderup said.

Three Palo Alto officers have been killed in the line of duty. Reserve Officer Lester Cole, who died January 1969; Officer Gene Clifton who died October 1971; and Reserve Officer Theodore Brassinga who died May 1994. More information is available on the PAPD website.

The memorial service starts at noon at the sheriff's headquarters at 55 W. Younger Ave. in San Jose.

Board of Supervisors president Ken Yeager will deliver the keynote speech and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, and state Assemblyman Paul Fong, D-Cupertino, will also speak.

Representatives from local law enforcement agencies in the county are expected to attend, Stenderup said.

The program will feature an honor guard, 21-gun salute, the national anthem, taps and a performance by a bagpipes band, Stenderup said.

After the elected officials speak, the names of the 39 peace officers killed in the county since 1862 will be read aloud, including officers from the sheriff's office, the San Jose, Palo Alto, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale police departments and the California Highway Patrol.

The first fallen officer in Santa Clara County was Deputy Sheriff Martin Roonan, who was stabbed to death on Oct. 23, 1862, and the most recent was San Jose police Officer Jeffrey Fontana, who was shot to death on Oct. 28, 2001, Stenderup said.


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