In Los Angeles, thousands gathered at a memorial service to mourn and pay their last respects to a decorated veteran LAPD officer who was killed in the line duty in a traffic accident last week.
Fallen LAPD Officer Nicholas Lee remembered
40-year-old Nicholas Lee, a 16-year department veteran, was killed after his patrol car collided with a commercial dump truck at an intersection in Beverly Hills. It hasn't been determined what caused the crash, but officials are looking at whether the truck had mechanical problems.
Lee, a husband and father of two, is remembered as respected officer and a devoted family man.
Lee spent the majority of his career working in Hollywood, where he developed a reputation as a straightforward cop with a sharp sense of humor. Friends described him as confident, always professional — a guy known to take fellow officers to his parents' restaurant in Koreatown.More here: Officer Nicholas Lee eulogized as 'the quintessential LAPD officer'
After short stints in juvenile and vice units, Lee spent his last six years as a training officer, overseeing cops fresh out of the academy.
"He was the quintessential LAPD officer," Police Chief Charlie Beck said. "He was one of us. He was the best of us."
Beck, who said he had also lost a partner in a traffic incident, grew emotional as he addressed Lee's family. The chief said Lee once worked with his daughter, who is also on the force.
"I cannot imagine your pain," Beck told Lee's parents, his voice quivering. "I have the same nightmares you had, losing one of your children to this profession. And now you live the nightmare. And I am so sorry."
