LAKEPORT, Calif. – A group of local law enforcement officials, religious leaders and community members gathered early Friday evening to recall the sacrifices of the public safety officers who have died serving Lake County.
The Lake County Safety Officer Memorial Service took place in front of the memorial monuments to the officers and firefighters in Courthouse Square in downtown Lakeport.
In attendance were about 50 people, including Lakeport Fire Chief Doug Hutchison and several of his department members; Sheriff Brian Martin and sheriff's command staffers including Undersheriff Chris Macedo, Capt. Chris Chwialkowski and Lt. Steve Brooks; District Attorney Don Anderson, his Chief Deputy Richard Hinchcliff, Chief Investigator Craig Woodworth and Senior Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg; and Officer Tyler Trouette and Sgt. Gary Basor for Lakeport Police.
The event was hosted by the Lake County Sheriff’s Chaplaincy Program.
The program, recently reestablished under Sheriff Martin, currently has six members, all of whom were on hand to help commemorate the sacrifices of the five men – three law enforcement officers and two firefighters – who died in the line of duty in Lake County over the last 105 years.
The chaplains provided candles that participants were invited to light for the brief ceremony.
Chaplain Shannon Kimbell-Auth of United Christian Parish in Lakeport opened the ceremony, which she said was a way of honoring the courage and saluting the sacrifice of the fallen officers.
Chaplain Fr. Bernard D’Sa recounted the story of Michael Mattioda, a Lakeshore Fire Protection District firefighter.
Mattioda died July 14, 1984, at age 19, a day after he sustained burns over 70 to 90 percent of his body while fighting the Mount Baldy Fire in Clearlake.
The story of Matthew Black, a volunteer firefighter with Lakeport Fire, was read by Chaplain Terry Cara.
On June 23, 1999, the 20-year-old Black was working at the scene of a grass fire sparked by fallen power lines when he fell onto a live wire and was electrocuted.
Chaplain Mike Suski, who is pastor at Lakeport Christian Center, shared the story of Sheriff George Kemp, who died on May 5, 1910.
Kemp was attempting to arrest two suspects wanted for horse theft and burglary. One of the suspects shot Kemp in the chest, mortally wounding him. He died a short time later. Kemp was 56 years old.
Chaplain Rick Barnes, who pastors Lake County Bible Fellowship in Lakeport, recounted the story of Deputy Sheriff William Hoyt.
Hoyt died on Oct. 11, 1967, at age 52 after he was shot in the Lake County Courthouse by a prisoner who had grabbed another deputy's gun on the way into a courtroom and began firing, hitting Hoyt in the chest. Hoyt managed to retrieve a pistol from under a counter and returned fire. He died later that day of his injuries.
Chaplain Steve Nesheim, pastor of Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, told of Sgt. Richard Helbush, who died at age 34 on May 2, 1981.
Helbush had stopped to assist a vehicle on the side of Highway 29 when he encountered Robert Cox and Annika Deasy. Unbeknownst to Helbush, the pair were wanted in Stockton for the murder of a restaurateur.
Helbush was shot four times – three times in the back and and once in the head – before Cox and Deasy took his patrol car, service revolver and wallet and fled the scene. They were captured later following a high speed chase and a gunfight.
Long before he became an attorney or pursued the district attorney's job, Anderson was a deputy sheriff who was involved in apprehending Cox and Deasy.
At the conclusion of each of the stories, Michael Kimbell-Auth rang a bell.
Also at the Friday ceremony, chaplains remembered the 117 officers and 87 firemen who died across the nation in 2014.
Cara read the names of the 15 safety officers from California who died last year – including 48-year-old Mendocino County Deputy Ricky Del Fiorentino, who died in March 2014 after being shot by a carjacking and armed robbery suspect.
At the end of the ceremony, Barnes led the group in a prayer.
As the candles were extinguished, Shannon Kimbell-Auth explained that the five men’s lights hadn't gone out, and that it was the responsibility of those gathered to carry on in their memory.
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