By Tammye McDuff
“On November 18, 2015, Officer Ricardo Galvez parked his vehicle in the department’s west parking lot as he returned from training as a canine agitator. Sitting in his vehicle, “Ricky” was approached by two men one of whom opened fire, mortally wounding Galvez.” These are the words that have been memorialized on the Fallen Officer Memorial, just outside the Downey Police Department building.
Officer Galvez was a 29 year old United States marine reservist, who proudly served his country. On November 16, 2016, just two days shy of the one year anniversary of a senseless act, the City of Downey and the Downey Police Department held a commemorative service outside of the Downey PD and City Hall at the Fallen Officers Memorial.
In the history of the Downey PD, there have only been two officers struck down in the line of duty. Wayne Presley was the first and only officer that had ever been killed in the line of duty in the history of the DPD. Presley was a motorcycle officer and was hit by a drunk driver in 1981.
HMG spoke with Kevin Mc Caster , Sergeant, Detective Division, “We are very fortunate up until a year ago that we only had one plaque on the statue,” Mc Caster commented, “ Galvez only lived a short 29 years, but in that time he affected many people. When you look at the two tours overseas and Operation Freedom, Galvez stands out as the type of person, others want to emulate.”
There are many stories that told of Galvez good heart, one in particular is of a woman that he stopped for a traffic violation only to find out that she had recently lost her husband. Galvez still issued her a citation, but met her later on to help her take care of it, paying the ticket out his own pocket. “These are the types of stories about this young man and if you had the opportunity to be in his life just a brief moment, you were truly blessed,” added Mc Caster, “and he always had a huge smile for everyone he met.”
Mayor Alex Saab called the service “A very fitting service for a dedicated community role model.”
Chief Carl Charles and Captain Stephen Garza spoke. A flag was folded in his honor and given to his mother. Senator Tony Mendoza presented the family with a replica of the sign that will go up on the I5 near the north end of Downey located at Paramount Boulevard.
Dn. Mario Guerra called the service, “a beautiful tribute unveiling the plaque dedicated to our loved fallen Officer Ricky Galvez. As Chaplain for DPD it was an honor to be able to pray for Ricky and his family. He was a son, a brother, a friend, a Downey officer and a decorated Marine.”
McCaster said he was deeply moved by the overwhelming outpouring of love and support from residents as well as fellow law enforcement officers and told of an incident the day before the memorial ceremony:
“I was practicing with the Honor Guard the day before the ceremony. A five year old girl named Melanie came up and handed me a small card. The card was a St. Benedict card with a black and blue ribbon on it and a little medallion. She said, “I just wanted to say thank you.” Then gave each of us a hug.”
It is for reasons like this that we do this job. Both old and small, weather you are weak or strong – that is why we do what we do. I posted the story on FB saying – today was a good day.