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Never Be Forgotten

July 17, 2014 by  
Filed under Feature

Officers remember their fallen comrades

Officer Alyn Beck & Officer Igor Soldo

Officer Alyn Beck & Officer Igor Soldo

Tragedy struck Las Vegas on June 8, 2014. Two Metropolitan Police officers — Alyn Beck, 42; and Igor Soldo, 32 — and civilian Joseph Wilcox, 31, were fatally ambushed by two Las Vegas residents at CiCi’s Pizza in Las Vegas and at the nearby Walmart. This violent tragedy has shaken all communities and the ripple effects of this senseless act will long be felt. We asked some of the Valley’s law enforcement leaders to share their feelings and pay tribute to the fallen.

Capt. William Scott

Capt. William Scott

Capt. William Scott (Bolden Area Command): First, my heart, soul, deepest sympathies and prayers go out to the families of Officer Alyn Beck; Officer Igor Soldo and the civilian, Joseph Wilcox. The June 8 event was a tragic event and something that nobody ever wants to go through — no matter what career you are in. Nobody wants to go through any kind of death of this sort. As police officers, we always promote the “See something, say something” campaign — asking residents to step forward if they witness anything that puts the community in harm’s way. We see that there is a lack of community participation as it relates to this campaign, because of fear of retaliation. It is very important that the community remembers to say something to law enforcement if they see something that can put others in danger. There are all types of avenues one can use to keep their information confidential. So, if you see something that can harm someone else, please have the courage to come forward and say something.

Sgt. Charles (C.J.) Jenkins

Sgt. Charles (C.J.) Jenkins

Sgt. Charles (C.J.) Jenkins: One of the biggest misconceptions in the community at large is generally that when it comes to law enforcement, it’s about “us against them.” But in reality, it has always been us for them. Unfortunately, it takes a tragic incident like this one to bring us together so we can all act as one. As a law enforcement professional — and someone who had the privilege to be Officer Beck’s supervisor early in his career — I believe we can honor the fallen by reaffirming our commitments to one another. People need to know that we are not just enforcers of the law. I am prior military, and in the military we often say, “Freedom isn’t free.” On a smaller scale, most people don’t realize that it’s because of police that we don’t have chaos in our society.

Lt. Robert Plummer

Lt. Robert Plummer

Lt. Robert Plummer: I didn’t know Officer Beck or Officer Soldo very well. However, the tragedy of their murders, and the murder of the civilian, was that they all were taken from their families. What the public should know about law enforcement is that officers are family people also, and they live and work in the community just like a truck driver, doctor or lawyer. The line of work that we choose as law enforcers is dangerous. We go toward danger versus going away from it. The community’s outpouring of love is very reassuring for all the officers and everyone is overwhelmed by the support and appreciation shown. It’s a tough job and we are not perfect. We make mistakes and the interesting part of my job is that I investigate officer-involved shootings. So my guys and I relive the tragedy day after day until the investigation is over. This makes it a challenge when you have to relive the incident every day. In this situation, the victims are our fellow officers and we are all coping with it. The community and the officers are all going to be fine and come through this.

Officer Francois Obasi

Officer Francois Obasi

Officer Francois Obasi: I actually knew Officer Alyn Beck very well, and Officer Soldo I only met a couple of times because we worked in different areas. But Officer Beck and I always crossed paths in supervisory classes we took. Officer Beck was a very good guy, and we both were in the process of going through classes to become promoted to sergeant. When I graduate from the training class, I plan on dedicating my promotion to Officer Beck. We were very close in our training class, and we had the same sense of humor. He was a guy who would have been at the top of this particular class as a sergeant. He should still receive his promotion as sergeant, because he was excellent in all that we had to accomplish. I consider him Sgt. Alyn Beck. He and Officer Soldo will never be forgotten. I dedicate this poem to them.

Angel Up!

Angels wanted

Only the righteous of heart need apply

Your special skills are needed here

Soldier on, soldier on

We few that understand will never forget

We few that understand shall carry on

And we shall never murmur the words “Officer down” again

We, your brothers and sisters, we know better

We will shout

Angel Up!

Angel Up!

You’re in God’s presence now

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