Hundreds gathered Thursday in Ontario to remember Samuel Riveros, a Baldwin Park police officer who was fatally shot in the line of duty.
Riveros, 35, died May 31 while responding to a home where 43-year-old Darius Wong was also killed.
The memorial service Thursday at Toyota Arena was not open to the public. In attendance were family members, Baldwin Park police Chief Robert Lopez, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, along with local, state and federal law enforcement officials and friends of Riveros.
A private burial followed the memorial service.
Lopez said Riveros’ killing was the first line-of-duty death for the Baldwin Park Police Department.
“The sadness and grief that followed (Riveros’ death) cannot be measured in words,” Lopez said. “To his family, there is … nothing I can say or do that will relieve the sadness and pain you feel in your hearts, but know that Sam truly loved you all.”
He said Riveros’ “honor and integrity” embodied the department’s values and recalled his infectious smile and devotion to the Los Angeles Dodgers, to whose away games Riveros would sometimes travel to see.
Hochman also was among the speakers at the memorial.
“Officer Riveros had a call to service,” Hochman said. “He viewed being a police officer not only as a job or a profession, but a calling … that starts deep in his soul as it does for other law enforcement officers, a calling that he starts to realize throughout his life.”
The son of immigrants from Santiago, Chile, Riveros was born June 27, 1989, in Pasadena, according to the LA County Sheriff’s Department. He grew up in Pasadena and attended local public schools, including Don Benito Elementary and John Marshall Fundamental School. Riveros participated in sports, the Boy Scouts and he played in the marching band drum line.
“Officer Riveros was known from a young age for his kindness, service and strong moral character,” sheriff’s officials said in a statement.
He attended California State Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo before earning an EMT certification at Pasadena City College. Riveros graduated from the University of California, Irvine, where he played for the men’s lacrosse team and earned a degree in criminology, law and society while interning at the UCI Police Department.
Riveros joined the Baldwin Park PD first as a public safety trainee in April 2016, then was sworn in as a police officer on Sept. 11, 2016. He served on the department’s SWAT team for five years starting in 2019 and was appointed as a field training officer last year.
“His journey from trainee to SWAT operator and ultimately to field training officer exemplified his commitment to growth, service and excellence in policing,” the LASD statement said.
Eduardo Roberto Medina-Berumen, the 22-year-old suspect in the killings, was wounded in a gun battle with Riveros and other officers around 7:15 p.m. May 31 on the 4200 block of Filhurst Avenue. He is being held without bail while awaiting arraignment set for July 31.
In addition to murder charges with special sentencing considerations, Medina-Berumen is facing one count of possession of an assault rifle and two counts of attempted murder involving other Baldwin Park police. Officer Anthony Pimentel was wounded by glass shards that resulted from a bullet believed to have hit a vehicle windshield.
