LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Hundreds of police officers and other mourners said a final farewell Wednesday morning to a young Los Angeles Police Department officer who was gunned down last month while off-duty in South L.A.
Three alleged gang members and one of their girlfriends face federal charges for fatally shooting the 27-year-old during a robbery attempt in the 8700 block of Beach Street. The young officer was house hunting with his girlfriend on Jan. 10 when he was shot.
At Arroyos’ funeral service Wednesday at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills, LAPD Chief Moore shared strong words aimed at the four suspects.
“May the full weight of our criminal justice system be brought to bear on these individuals,” Moore said. “[With]…selfish, callous and evil disregard for the value of a human life in this murder.”
Moore went on to say that it was Arroyos’ lifelong dream to become an LAPD officer and his death, is one of too many officer funerals Moore has been to in his 40 years on the job.
"I've seen far too many officers die in the line of duty. Fernando represents the 237th officer," Moore said.
"Every one of them hurts… it tears the fabric of our society when a police officer is killed. It pulls away from us the very things that we stand for. What keeps us together as a democracy."
Three people were arrested and charged following the officer’s death. Luis Alfredo De La Rosa Rios, 29, Ernesto Cisneros, 22, Jesse Contreras, 34 and Haylee Grisham, 18, were charged with violent crime in aid of racketeering to increase and maintain position within a Latino gang based in South L.A., according to City News Service.
The news outlet added that in documents filed by the FBI on Jan. 13, Rios admitted to the group's involvement in Arroyos’ death during an interview with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives.
“Arroyos suffered a single gunshot wound, ran from the area and collapsed in an alley,” CNS reported. “Responding deputies found bystanders performing CPR on Arroyos. The deputies loaded him into a patrol car and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”
Arroyos is survived by his mother, father, grandfather, girlfriend and stepfather.
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