Two local fallen peace officers honored at memorial ceremony in Pismo Beach
PISMO BEACH, Calif. -- Two fallen San Luis Obispo County peace officers were honored during a memorial ceremony held Thursday morning in Pismo Beach.
Detective Luca Benedetti of the San Luis Obispo Police Department and Sergeant Thomas Stanley of the Atascadero State Hospital Police Department will be remembered at San Luis Obispo County’s Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony that took place at the Pismo Pier.
Benedetti was shot and killed in the line of duty by on May 10, 2021 while serving a search warrant at an apartment in San Luis Obispo.
"It was and remains an incredibly difficult time for the San Luis Obispo Police Department, as well as all of our law enforcement family in the region," said San Luis Obispo Police Chief Rick Scott. "We lost Detective Luca Benedetti on May 10th of 2021, and it's still an incredibly difficult time for us. This is a step in healing. This is a step in continuing our grieving process, and to be able to do that with our law enforcement partners and our community, makes things just a little bit easier."
Stanley died of COVID-19 complications on December 31, 2021.
The annual memorial pays tribute to all of the law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty over the past year in California.
"The importance is recognizing what the men and women of law enforcement do day to day," said Pismo Beach Police Chief Jeff Smith. "There's an impact of going out and serving the community and protecting your community, and being able to honor individuals who have lost their life in the line of duty is not only important for that officer, but the officers who served with them and the family members that loved them so much."
The memorial included the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Honor Guard and 21-gun salute team, a CHP fly-over, and a San Luis Obispo Fire Department ladder truck displaying the US flag.
There was also a reading of the names of officers who died, a tradition that is intended to help provide closure to the friends and family of the fallen.
The Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony is organized and coordinated by the Criminal Justice Administrators’ Association.
