SW4747
11-26-2003, 09:10 PM
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/2667607/detail.html
Long Lost Badge Of Officer Killed In Line Of Duty Found
Officer Killed By Drunken Driver
POSTED: 1:13 p.m. PST November 26, 2003
UPDATED: 2:23 p.m. PST November 26, 2003
LOS ANGELES -- A gardener working in a strip mall flowerbed found something unimaginably precious to the men and women of the Downey Police Department -- and to the survivors of Officer Wayne Presley.
Presley, who was 37, was fatally injured by a drunken driver in 1981. Presley remains the only Downey, Calif., police officer to die in the line of duty since the department was formed in 1957, said Lt. Jim Heckel.
After his death, Presley's badge was placed in a memorial display in the Downey police station lobby, Heckel said.
But on Dec. 6, 1996, someone stole the badge from the display. The suspect eventually was caught and convicted, Heckel said, but the badge was never found -- until last Saturday.
Gardener Manuel Perez discovered the shield buried in a Downey strip mall flowerbed, then notified police, who determined it was Wayne Presley's long missing badge, Heckel said. Plans are afoot to redisplay the precious symbol.
"We are very appreciative that Mr. Perez returned the badge to us," said Downey police Chief John Finch. "To the men and women of the Downey Police Department, it is much more than a weathered piece of metal. It is a symbol of the ultimate sacrifice Wayne made to our community."
Long Lost Badge Of Officer Killed In Line Of Duty Found
Officer Killed By Drunken Driver
POSTED: 1:13 p.m. PST November 26, 2003
UPDATED: 2:23 p.m. PST November 26, 2003
LOS ANGELES -- A gardener working in a strip mall flowerbed found something unimaginably precious to the men and women of the Downey Police Department -- and to the survivors of Officer Wayne Presley.
Presley, who was 37, was fatally injured by a drunken driver in 1981. Presley remains the only Downey, Calif., police officer to die in the line of duty since the department was formed in 1957, said Lt. Jim Heckel.
After his death, Presley's badge was placed in a memorial display in the Downey police station lobby, Heckel said.
But on Dec. 6, 1996, someone stole the badge from the display. The suspect eventually was caught and convicted, Heckel said, but the badge was never found -- until last Saturday.
Gardener Manuel Perez discovered the shield buried in a Downey strip mall flowerbed, then notified police, who determined it was Wayne Presley's long missing badge, Heckel said. Plans are afoot to redisplay the precious symbol.
"We are very appreciative that Mr. Perez returned the badge to us," said Downey police Chief John Finch. "To the men and women of the Downey Police Department, it is much more than a weathered piece of metal. It is a symbol of the ultimate sacrifice Wayne made to our community."