PSPD pays tribute to fallen officers with remembrance ceremony
Friends, family members, and colleagues gathered in front the Palm Springs Police Department headquarters to remember the lives of two PSPD officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice two years ago. Officers Jose ‘Gil’ Vega and Lesley Zerebny were shot and killed in an ambush attack on October 8, 2016, while responding.
Click for a recap on the last two years since Zerebny & Vega’s deaths
“We bruise when we get punched, we bleed when we are shot and we cry when we lose someone we hold dear. We’ll always continue on with our mission to provide protection and service to the residents of this city and its visitors. I cannot express how much it means to me and this department that so many of you can out this afternoon to help us honor Officer Lesley Zerebny and officer Jose ‘Gil’ Vega,” PSPD Lt. Paul Abshire told attendees at the ceremony.
“I hope we thanked you enough for all the sacrifices you made, including the ultimate sacrifice that was your last,” said Gloria Vega, the daughter of Officer Vega.
The memorial plaza in front of the headquarters was adorned with flowers and candles left behind by people paying their respects to the officers.
“It’s been a tough day since this morning,” said Jose Vega, Officer Vega’s older brother. “He did great service to the city and that’s what bring me peace, he did what he liked to do.”
Vega had been with the department 35 years, five years past his retirement eligibility and had planned to finish his career last December. Vega’s older brother took a moment to reflect on what would have been.
“He was going to start fishing and golfing with me again once he retired so we were kind of looking forward to it and that’s what I’m going to miss the most because we’re supposed to be doing that at this point in our lives,” Vega said.
Zerebny had been with the department for a year and a half and had just returned to duty from maternity leave after the birth of a daughter, Cora, four months before her death. Zerebny’s father, David Kling says the memories of Oct. 8, 2016 have been difficult to face again.
“I thought that year two would be diminished a little bit and not be as hard, but it hasn’t been, Kling said. “I can’t even make a prediction to when I’ll feel kind of normal again. I loved my daughter she’s the apple of my eye and I’m so proud of her for making the sacrifice that she did.”
Zerebny and Vega were the first Palm Springs police officers to be killed in the line of duty since Jan. 1, 1962, when Officer Lyle Wayne Larrabee died during a vehicle pursuit. The only other death in the department was that of Officer Gale Gene Eldridge, who was fatally shot on Jan. 18, 1961, while investigating an armed robbery.
Vega is survived by his wife, eight children, 11 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Zerebny is survived by her husband, who also serves in law enforcement, and her now two-year-old child.
Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty against the alleged shooter, John Hernandez Felix, 28, who is accused of opening fire on Vega, Zerebny and a third officer through the metal screen door of his home as they approached. He also allegedly fired on five of their colleagues, who were not struck by the gunfire.
Felix’s trial is slated to undergo an Atkins hearing, which determines whether a defendant is considered too intellectually incapacitated to be executed. The 2002 Atkins v. Virginia case led to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute a defendant who has intellectual disabilities. The hearing will be held on tomorrow.
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