Final 'Locals' Night' Event to Feature Tribute and Festivities Santa Monica gears up for a night of celebration and remembrance as it pays tribute to its "Local Heroes" and the life of beloved Santa Monica Police Officer, Officer Ricardo Crocker, during the last "Locals' Night" on the iconic Sant
Canyon News
SANTA MONICA The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) will be joining the Santa Monica Police Activities League (PAL) to host the Inaugural Rick Crocker Challenge, a 5K run/walk pairing the youth of our community with SMPD Officer on Wednesday, May 26.
Lt. Rudy Flores of the SMPD noted to Canyon News that the event is in honor of fallen SMPD Officer and Marine Corps Reserve Major, Ricardo Crocker, who was killed by a rocket propelled grenade while on tour in Iraq on May 26, 2005. Prior to being redeployed to Iraq, Rick was assigned at PAL where he was a passionate advocate of programs which mentored PAL youth in their scholastic and outdoor activities.
National Police Week has closed, but local officers are hoping residents will continue showing support for first responders who have given their lives throughout the state.
The Santa Monica Police Officers Association’s Charity Fund, also known as the Survivor’s Fund, was created after the death of Santa Monica Police Department Officer Ricardo Crocker, who died while on active duty in Iraq in 2005.
“We didn’t have the means or the ways to assist his family with his funeral expenses,” Sgt. Chad Goodwin said in an interview this week. “And since he was from Puerto Rico, there was a lot of trying to get family here and a question of was it legal or okay for the police department to do it all within like a gift and all these tax purposes and things that we have to abide by within the union that made it difficult.