Pittsburg Police Department, California
End of Watch Sunday, April 24, 2005
Reflections for Police Officer Larry Elwood Lasater, Jr.
"Final Inspection"
The policeman stood and faced his God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining.
Just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, policeman.
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My church have you been true?"
The policeman squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't,
Because those of us who carry badges
can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays,
and at times my talk was rough,
and sometimes I've been violent,
Because the streets are awfully tough.
But I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep....
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fear.
If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't.....I'll understand.
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod.
As the policeman waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, policeman,
You've borne your burdens well.
Come walk a beat on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in hell."
Author Unknown
To Officer Lasater's Wife, Family, Law Enforcement Family,
I know that nothing that anyone says or does can bring much comfort at this very moment, but please know that myself, along with a very large family of other police survivors, will be here for you in the upcoming weeks, months and years of sadness and sorrow. Please accept my deepest condolences, and my prayers are with you in this horrific time.
Juli Verkler
Widow of Ptlm. Bryan S. Verkler EOW 12/13/03
April 26, 2005
Brother, your shift is over and now you can rest. We will take it from here. My prayers to your family, until we meet... Rest in Peace
Corporal Gregory A. Cohn
Florida Highway Patrol
April 26, 2005
Our thoughts and Prayers are of Larry, His Family and friends . God Bless
Police Officer
Chicago Police Dept
April 26, 2005
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Officer Larry Lasater, his good deeds to his community and country will always be remembered. May God bless you.
Chief Ferrell J. Stewart
Cooter, MO Police Department
April 26, 2005
Joanne and Cody,
I am truly sorry for your terrible loss. Larry was a hero and will never be forgotten by those he worked with, those whose lives he touched and those whose lives he saved.
Larry, rest easy and watch over the streets of Heaven.
Semper Fi
Patrol Officer
Pacifica, Ca Police Department
April 26, 2005
Rest In Peace Brother....
You can guard heaven's streets
S. R.
HCPD, Texas
April 26, 2005
May god be with your family, friends, and brothers and sisters in arms during this difficult time. We all know you were doing what you loved. Godspeed brother. Looks like the good Lord has another protector on the streets of heaven.
Semper Fi
Patrolman
La Porte Police Dept., La Porte, Texas
April 26, 2005
You served your country as a Marine, and your city as an officer. You served faithfully, now we'll take it from here. Semper Fi Marine
Patrolman
Bartlett, TN P.D.
April 26, 2005
May you rest peacefully above Officer Larry Lasater... may your wife find comfort with the Lord during this difficult and tragic time.. and just remember that your unborn son will always know what a true hero his father was.
God Bless You Mrs.Lasater
April 26, 2005
It is another sad day that I find another brother in blue has fallen. We as a law enforcement community will never forget the ultimate sacrifice you have made. To be so caring to share the organs you have so that others may live even after you have passed! It seems in life these days some "hero's" come cheap...not you Officer Lasater. You gave your life and preserved more lifes than you may ever know. You are truly a Hero in every sense of the word. Thank you for your dedication and service to our Nation and your community.
To Officer Lasater's wife and yet-to-be-born child......your Husband and father is a Hero and you should always be proud. That will not bring him back but he has not really left you. He will always be with you. To Officer Lasater's co-workers... know that your brothers and sisters in law enforcement support you and we pray you will heal from this tragedy as we know you are all professionals and will keep the watch from here on out.
Be proud of your brother for he has found the narrow gate!
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it"
Matthew 7:13-14
Officer T.W. Jester
Fort Wayne Police Dept.
April 26, 2005
Much love to the Family, Friends and Department of Officer Lasater. Although you have sufferered a tremendous lose, you have an Angel now to guide you all. Be strong and take it one day at a time. Rest in Peace Brave Soul.
Alethe Burgess
Tuolumne County Resident
April 26, 2005
God bless you and your family, friends, and co-workers. May you continue to keep watch over all of them from above.
Jennifer Aaron
Wife of Ofc. Duke G. Aaron, III (EOW 07/20/04)
April 26, 2005
God bless this fallen brother. My deepest condolences go out to the family, friends, and coworkers of Officer Lasater.
Andrew, Police Officer
Baltimore City Police
April 26, 2005
REST IN PEACE MY BROTHER OFFICER. OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOUR FAMILY AND THE DEPARTMENT. ALOHA AND GOD BLESS.
POLICE OFFICER
HONOLULU POLICE DEPARTMENT
April 26, 2005
“REMEMBER ME”
Law enforcement officers are, indeed, a special breed of people. Ask anyone on the street and they will tell you that they would not have our jobs for anything in the world. It takes something special to do what we do and at the same time be able to even contemplate retirement. We try to be optimists. Unfortunately, there are a few of us who will never make that date with retirement. By the very nature of our job, we are at risk everyday of losing our lives, either at the hand of some deranged individual or in some other situation that we, by virtue of our occupation, may be unable to avoid. Some people have recognized the hazardous duties we involve ourselves in, the risks we take, and the pride we take in accomplishing that job. There is National Law Enforcement Week, dedicated to us who gladly accept the responsibility of protecting the citizens in our respective jurisdictions. National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Day is dedicated to those who gave their lives in the line of duty. These are but a two examples of remembrances specifically for law enforcement personnel. Remembrances that come but once a year. We should remind fellow officers of another type of remembrance, one that will last a lifetime. Sooner or later, a doctor will pronounce us dead. It is inevitable. Regardless of whatever happens, death is the end we will all have to face.
“IT IS IN DEATH THAT WE CAN LIVE FOREVER”
Author Unknown
Jim Moore
New Orleans P.D., Retired
April 26, 2005
Rest easy brother, The watch is ours now.
Officer
Atlanta Police
April 26, 2005
God bless the family of Officer Larry Lasater and to all the members of the Pittsburg Police Department for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Trooper
New Jersey State Police
April 26, 2005
Rest in Peace Officer Lasater, you will never be forgotten.
Al Hogue
Vermont Forensics Laboratory
April 26, 2005
Another hero is taken away by some waste of life. Sir rest in peace our prayers are with you and for your family. We will take the shift from here
P.O. Suroviak # 48
Downers Grove IL PD
April 26, 2005
I would like to offer my deepest sympathies to the Lasater family and the Pittsburg Police Department for their loss. Thank you to +Officer Lasater for your dedicated service to your country and community in life and your “Gift of Life” after your death, so other may live.
(A selfless act of an organ donation saved my life a decade ago.)
CA Peace Officer
CA Peace Officer
April 26, 2005
TO MRS.LASATER AND YOUR UNBORN CHILD, FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FELLOW COLLEAGUES OF OFFICER LASATER,
HOW TRULY SORRY I AM FOR YOUR DEVASTATING LOSS. ,I KNOW THERE ARE NO WORDS THAT CAN COMFORT YOU AT THIS TREMENDOUSLY DIFFICULT TIME HOWEVER, PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU ARE IN MY PRAYERS AND I HOPE THAT YOU WILL FIND SOME PEACE AND COMFORT KNOWING THAT YOUR HUSBAND, FRIEND AND OUR HERO GAVE HIS LIFE TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR WORLD A SAFER PLACE. HE WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE THROUGH ALL THE LOVING MEMORIES AND THROUGH THE LIFE OF HIS UNBORN CHILD. MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND MAY OFFICER LASATER REST IN ETERNAL PEACE.
WIFE OF LAPD DETECTIVE
LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
April 26, 2005
My prayers and thoughts are with your family may God give you the strength in these difficult times.
April 26, 2005
The men and women at the Larned P.D. wish to extend our heartfelt sympathies to family and friends. You are in our daily prayers......
Chief of Police Charles R. Orth
Larned, Kansas Police Department
April 26, 2005
When God Made Police Officers . . .
When the Lord was creating Police Officers, He was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said,
"You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."
And the Lord said, "Have you read the requirements on this
order? A Police Officer has to be able to run five miles through alleys in the dark, scale walls, enter homes the health inspector wouldn't touch, and not wrinkle their uniform."
"They have to be able to sit in an undercover car all day on a stakeout, cover a homicide scene that night, canvass the neighborhood for witnesses, and testify in court the next day."
"They have to be in top physical condition at all times,
running on black coffee and half-eaten meals, and they have to have six pairs of hands."
The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands . . . no way!!"
"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord, "it's the three pairs of eyes an officer has to have."
"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.
The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through a bulge in a pocket before they ask, 'May I see what's in there, sir?'"
(when they already know and wish they'd taken that accounting job) "Another pair here in the side of their head for their partner's safety, and another pair of eyes here in front so they can look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and say, 'You'll be alright, ma'am,' when they know it isn't so."
"Lord," said the angel, touching His sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow."
"I can't," said the Lord, "I already have a model that can talk a 250 pound drunk into a patrol car without incident and feed a family of five on a civil service paycheck."
The angel circled the model of the Police Officer very slowly. "Can it think?" she asked.
"You bet," said the Lord, "it can tell you the elements of a hundred crimes, recite Miranda warnings in its sleep, detain, investigate, search, and arrest a gang member on the street in less time than it takes five learned judges to debate the legality of the stop . . . and still it keeps its sense of humor. This officer also has phenomenal personal control. They can deal with crime scenes painted in hell, coax a confession from a child abuser, comfort a murder victim's family, and then read in the daily paper how law enforcement isn't sensitive to the rights of criminal suspects."
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Police Officer. "There's a leak," she pronounced, "I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model."
"That's not a leak," said the Lord. "It's a tear."
"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.
"It's for bottled-up emotions, for fallen comrades, for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the American flag, for justice."
"You're a genius," said the angel.
The Lord looked somber. "I didn't put it there," He said.
The Marine Corps Hymn:
From the Halls of Montezuma
To the Shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
of United States Marine.
Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in ev'ry clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far-off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job--
The United States Marines.
Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve;
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.
Gods Speed Brother,
and SEMPER FI
Officer Rusty Redican
L.A.P.D./ Newton Area (Patrol)
April 26, 2005
Rest easy now brother. Thank you for your sacrifice and dedication. You will never be forgotten. May God bless and kepp your family close to Him.
Officer Eric Kothstein
Tacoma Police Department
April 26, 2005
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