Funeral Set For Riverside Officer Killed On-Duty As Reward Increases

A Riverside police officer fatally shot by a man suspected of stealing a big rig will be remembered at a funeral a week from today.

Officer Ryan Bonaminio will be eulogized at a 10 a.m. funeral next Tuesday at The Grove Community Church at 19900 Grove Community Drive in Riverside, police said. Burial will follow at Riverside National Cemetery at 22495 Van Buren Blvd.

Bonaminio, a four-year Riverside police officer who also served two tours of duty with the Army in Iraq, was shot shortly after 9:45 p.m. Sunday at Fairmount Park, near the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway offramp to Market Street, police Sgt. Dan Russell said.

Bonaminio, 27, was declared dead at Riverside Community Hospital at 10:22 that night, according to the coroner’s office.

A makeshift memorial, including candles and miniature American flags, has sprung up near the entrance to the park.

The officer tried to pull over a big rig believed to have been involved in a hit-and-run crash near Market Street and the 60, Russell said. The driver of the stolen 18-wheeler failed to stop when Bonaminio signaled him to do so, and the officer followed the suspect to the entrance to the park, where he got out and ran, according to Russell.

Bonaminio ran after the suspect and was fatally shot in exchange of gunfire. Responding officers found Bonaminio mortally wounded, according to Russell.

The suspect returned to the truck and fled, though the officer’s dashboard camera caught images of him. He is black, in his 30 or 40s and about 6 feet 1 inch, with a slender build. He was wearing dark clothes and a light- colored baseball cap.

The truck was found a few miles away, but the suspect was at large, police said.

The Riverside City Council and Riverside County Board of Supervisors are each offering $100,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who responsible.

Additional rewards are being offered by Riverside Police Officers Association, U.S. Marshals, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the Morongo Casino.

The total reward money is more than $385,000.

Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge says the reward money is “a call for swift justice, and it is our statement of the value we place on the life and the work of Riverside police officers.”

Bonaminio became the first Riverside police officer to die in the line of duty in about 10 years, according to Assistant Chief Chris Vicino.

Bonaminio, a Riverside resident who graduated from Ramona High School in 2000, joined the U.S. Army and completed two tours as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Riverside police.

He served with the 314th Military Police and his assignments included serving in Kuwait City, Bagdad, Mosul and Umm Qasr in southern Iraq. He also served in the 282nd Base Support Battalion in Hohenfels, Germany.

The Riverside native began working for the police department in July 2006 while still in the Army Reserves.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the “Officer and Family Assistance Fund” through the Riverside Police Officers’ Association.