“Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door…”
By Terry Miller
Each year on the anniversary of Deputy David March’s murder, LASD holds a 24-hour vigil honoring their fallen colleague on Live Oak Road. This 13th year was accented by a Sheriff’s helicopter circling the memorial while playing a version of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s door” through the P.A. system.
As the LASD chopper made its final circle, a deputy broadcast over the Helicopter’s speaker “Deputy David March, you are not forgotten.”
The song played:
Mama, take this badge off of me,
I can’t use it anymore.
It’s gettin’ dark, too dark to see,
I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door.
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door,
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door,
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door,
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door.
Deputy David March was shot and killed after stopping a vehicle in Irwindale, CA, at approximately 10:40 a.m. April 29, 2002.
The suspect had stated to friends that he wanted to kill a police officer during a traffic stop. The suspect intentionally got stopped and waited for Deputy March to get in front of his patrol car so he could open fire, as Deputy March would have no place to take cover. Deputy March was shot several times in the head and chest.
The suspect, who was identified shortly after the shooting, fled to Mexico where he remained for four years. On Feb. 23, 2006, the suspect was arrested in Mexico by U.S. Marshals and Mexican federal agents following a joint investigation. He was extradited back to California and on March 2, 2007, he plead guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Deputy March had served with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for seven years. He is survived by his wife and stepdaughter.
