Fallen officer honored at Golden West

Paul Clinton

A Huntington Beach police officer killed in the line of duty was

honored at a Golden West College ceremony Friday.

Police from across the Southland converged on the college to honor the

15 graduates of the college’s police academy who have been killed in

uniform.

During a rousing, but somber, full-dress military-style ceremony, the

15 men who lost their lives were remembered by a sizable crowd.

David Barr, the director of the Criminal Justice Training Center, said

the memorial service reminds officers about the dangers of police work.

As part of the 30-minute ceremony, which included a Scottish bagpiper

playing “Amazing Grace,” Barr unveiled a permanent plaque at the college

with each officer’s name.

“What it does is it’s a constant reminder to our students,” Barr said.

“They don’t want to be the next name up there.”

One of the men honored was Huntington Beach Officer Leslie Prince, who

was killed in 1974. Prince was directing traffic at Beach Boulevard and

Adams Avenue during an evening power outage on Nov. 16 when he was struck

by a drunk driver. He died about three weeks later.

In one part of the ceremony, officers representing each of the

officers killed on duty peeled off black strips of cloth covering each of

the officers’ names on the plaque.

The plaque is on a wall inside the training area.

Prince was a “heck of a guy,” said Huntington Beach Capt. John Arnold,

who attended the ceremony.

“He was a very capable officer and had a very bright future,” Arnold

said. “He would probably be standing here as a captain now [if he were

still alive].”

Prince was killed by the driver of a pickup truck who blew through the

blacked-out intersection. Prince was treated for his injuries but died

Dec. 1.

The driver of the truck was convicted of felony drunk driving and

vehicular manslaughter.

Prince left behind a wife, Linda, and an infant, along with his

parents and a sister.

On April 6, 1979, the City Council memorialized the officer by

dedicating Leslie J. Prince Park in Huntington Harbour.

Prince was the second Huntington Beach police officer to be killed on

duty. The city’s other fallen officer was Leo R. “LeRoy” Darst, who was

killed in a traffic accident on duty in 1928.

Since it opened in 1969, the college’s police academy has seen more

than 3,900 cadets graduate through its ranks.

The ceremony was appropriately set in May, which is Peace Officer

Memorial Month.