Dozens of uniformed officers, elected officials, and family members gathered Thursday morning at Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo to honor peace officers who died in the line of duty in the past year.
The Peace Officers’ Memorial event included a formal color guard, a three-gun volley and taps, followed by “Amazing Grace.”
This type of event is being held this month around the country, and the local memorial in San Luis Obispo happened just days before the five-year anniversary of the death of SLOPD Detective Luca Benedetti, who was killed in the line of duty on May 11, 2021. His family was in attendance at the event.
San Luis Obispo Police Chief Rick Scott shared how he had only been on the job a few days when the incident happened and how enormous of a mark the loss of Det. Benedetti has made on his career.
“All I could think about in that moment was, ‘Who is protecting the protectors?’ and it’s not the chiefs of police and it’s not the detectives and it’s not the DA, it’s the community. It’s us together, and it’s us who protects the protectors, and we do that by simply showing that we care,” Chief Scott said.
Dozens of officers from around the state wore their dress uniforms to salute the fallen, and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Posse walked a Palomino horse through the plaza, known as a “riderless horse” with an officer’s boots in the stirrups but no one in the saddle.
San Luis Obispo Mayor Erika Stewart, City Manager Whitney McDonald, city council members, and District Attorney Dan Dow were among the local leaders in attendance.
Later this month, a delegation of law enforcement leadership is scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C. to lay a wreath at the nation’s capital in honor of Det. Benedetti.