Hundreds of California cops turned out to pay their respects to slain Los Angeles Police Officer Fernando Arroyos Thursday – a 27-year-old who died in a shootout with a group of alleged gang members who attacked him as he was house hunting with his girlfriend last month.
The funeral took place Wednesday morning before Arroyos was laid to rest at the Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills cemetery.
LAPD Lt. Rex Ingram, Arroyos’ watch commander, described the slain officer as a “bright, shining star of hope” and a role model for his fellow officers and for children to emulate.
LAPD OFFICE FERNANDO ARROYOS DEATH: DOJ CHARGES 4 SUSPECTS
“You were a product of your community who represented the best of the diverse melting pot we call home in Los Angeles,” he said during a eulogy. “You stood tall, defending life and liberty, so that everyone else could live their American Dream.”
Arroyos, had grown up wanting to be a police officer and graduated both Crenshaw High School and the University of California- Berkeley with honors, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles. He joined the police force in 2018.
“We’ve lost an angel in this City of Angels,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said at the funeral. “God has called Fernando home.”
Police said last month Arroyos had been killed while off-duty in “a senseless act of violence.”
Los Angeles police officer Fernando Arroyos, 27, was killed on Jan. 10 while house hunting with his girlfriend. Four people have been arrested in connection with the murder investigation and federal prosecutors will prosecute the case after Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva bypassed the local district attorney.
(Los Angeles Police Protective League)
Three suspected “Florencia 13” gang members and a woman face federal charges after allegedly shooting Arroyos during an attempted robbery on Jan. 10.
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Police have identified the suspects as Luis Alfredo De La Rosa Rios, 29, Ernesto Cisneros, 22, Jesse Contreras, 34, and Rios’ girlfriend Haylee Marie Grisham, 18. They could face the death penalty if convicted on federal racketeering charges. The minimum sentence would be life imprisonment without parole.
Arroyos and his girlfriend were house shopping when Rios and Cisneros allegedly held them up at gunpoint and stole some jewelry before an exchange of gunfire.
Arroyos suffered a single gunshot wound and died at the hospital. Cisneros also appeared injured after the gunfight, according to federal prosecutors, who said they obtained surveillance video showing Contreras helping him exit a black pickup truck linked to the crime.
