This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

Candlelight Vigil Honors Father of San Juan Capistrano Police Sergeant

Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, members of the OCSD Explorers and 29 law enforcement officers who bicycled in from Sacramento were among the attendees.

Hundreds held a candlelight vigil in Santa Ana Tuesday to honor the father of a San Juan Capistrano police sergeant, as well as other local officers who have died in the line of duty.

The crowd of family, friends and officers included Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, members of the Sheriff's Department Explorers and 29 law enforcement officers who bicycled in from Sacramento.

The event paid special tribute to Sgt. Ira Essoe II, who died February 2010 from injuries brought on by gunshot wounds sustained almost 30 years earlier. The 1980 incident left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“With the addition of my father’s name to this wall, we memorialize another warrior in the battle of good against evil,” said his son, Sgt. Ira Essoe III.

According to the San Clemente Times, Essoe was a former San Clemente resident and patrolled South Orange County before most of the area was incorporated. His patrol area included San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente and Dana Point.

Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Essoe III, who works at the San Juan Capistrano station, addressed the crowd at the Orange County Peace Officers Memorial, a few yards south of the Orange County Courthouse.

Essoe called his father a humble man who cared about his family and who always said “he was just doing his job.”

“His death has left a gaping hole in my life and the lives of my family,” said Essoe III.

Essoe II’s name is scheduled to be added to the memorial in a ceremony Wednesday morning. Dedicated in 1986, the memorial now commemorates 48 officers killed in the line of duty.

Hutchens praised Essoe’s father and others like him who had given their lives for what “they believed to be just.”

 “We honor them for how they died and how they lived,” Hutchens said. “Let us honor them in their commitment to something bigger than themselves."

Orange County sheriff’s spokesman John McDonald estimated there were about 400 people at the event in the Plaza of Flags.

Some of the attendees included bicyclists for Project 999, a nonprofit that supports officers and their families when the officer is wounded or killed in the line of duty.

The riders had just completed a 630-mile trek from the Peace Officers Memorial in Sacramento to the memorial in Santa Ana.

The bicyclists came from the Orange County Sheriff's Department, the Placentia Police Department, Tustin Police Department, Irvine Police Department, Santa Ana Police Department, Orange Police Department and the California Highway Patrol.

During the May 24 ceremony, the 29 riders placed roses on the monument.

Ira Essoe II left behind three children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild on the way, according to his son.  

Hundreds of members of the Sheriff's Department Explorers also attended.

Evan Hotchkin, 19, who has been with the Explorers 2½ years, said he felt humbled by the experience.

“It was very touching to see the sacrifice of those who came before,” said Hotchkin, a captain in the Explorers.

Marilyn MacDougal, executive director of the Orange County Sheriff’s Advisory Council, said the memorial helps people remember the sacrifices of the officers who died, as well as, hopefully, preventing future tragedies. 

“I hope to be long retired before I add another name to that wall,” MacDougal said.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.