Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

RIP Brother & thank you for what you have given. Our thoughts & prayers are with you, your family & members of the LAPD. God Bless.

Lt.Robert M.Petty (Retired)
North Bergen N.J.P.D.

April 10, 2014

RIP brother Chris.

May God bless and be with your family, co-workers and friends at this very difficult time.

Det. Bevenour
Gettysburg Police Department

April 10, 2014

God Bless you Officer

Deputy Sheriff Paul T. Thompson
Dane County Sheriff's Office, Madison, WI

April 10, 2014

My heart grieves for your family Officer Cortijo...having lost my own Motor Officer son EOW 9/21/13, I know all too well the sorrow, the unfathomable loss, and heartache your loved ones are experiencing. Thank you Officer Cortijo for your service - you will not be forgotten...I picture you with Jon and all the rest of the Fallen Motor Officers, all riding your Motors in the sky. RIP.

Luciana Coutchie
Proud Mom of Fallen Officer Coutchie

April 10, 2014

Rest in peace Officer Cortijo. My sincere condolences to your family and to your department. Godspeed as you now motor on the streets of gold. Your service will not be forgotten.

OFC TERRY F. ZECH(RET)
VETERAN AFFAIRS POLICE DEPT, DETROIT, MICHIGAN

April 10, 2014

Although I did not know you, rest in peace. My prayers are with your family and partners.

POIII Charlie Block (retired)
Los Angeles Police

April 10, 2014

A TRUE MOTOR OFFICER, WE BLEED TOGETHER.RIP.

OFFIECER A. HERRERA # 9878
RET. CHP MOTOR OFFICER 92-M-4

April 10, 2014

REST IN PEACE BROTHER. YOU ARE A TRUE HERO.

Deputy J.D.Davis
Pittsylvania County Sheriff's office

April 10, 2014

Rest In Peace Sir. Thank you for your service to the nation and to your city.

Ofc. Flores, M
UCFPD

April 10, 2014

Rest In Peace Brother

Officer Joseph Marchese
Westchester County Dept.of Correction NY

April 10, 2014

Our deepest condolences goes out to the friends and family of Officer Chris Cortijo. May he rest in peace. We would like to thank him for his many years of service to law enforcement.

Zone Five Academy Session 56
New York State Zone Five Regional Law Enforcement Training Academy

April 10, 2014

R.I.P. BROTHER Cortijo!!!

Nebraska Police Officer

April 10, 2014

“Marines”

You can have your Army Kakiis,
And your Navy Blues,
But here’s a different fighting man,
I’ll introduce to you.
His uniform is unlike,
Any you’ve ever seen,
The Germans called him “Devil Dog”,
His title is “Marine”.

He was trained in Parris Island,
The place that God forgot,
The sand was fourteen inches deep,
The sun was blazing hot.
He awakened up one morning,
In front of his rack he’ll stand,
And in through the doorway walked,
A giant of a man.

He turned and faced this young Marine,
With eyes as cold as steel,
He said, “I am your DI,
And this is for real.
I’ll make your life as miserable,
As miserable as I can,
And when you finally leave this place,
You’ll be a fighting man.
You’ll be a rifle expert,
You’ll know your weapon well,
And when you encounter the Viet Cong,
You’ll send their souls to Hell.

Now gather around you young Marines,
And lend me all your ears,
And I’ll tell you of a few things,
We’ve conquered through the years,
We fought at Iwo Jima,
The land of fire and Hell,
We killed all those Japanese,
And took their land as well.

Now you can tell your ladies,
And this my Lad is true,
To get herself a young “Marine”,
There is nothing he can’t do.
He’s peeled a million onions,
And twice as many spuds,
Then you’ll find him in the slop chutes,
A soaking up the suds.

And when he gets to Heaven,
St.Peter he will tell,
Another “Marine” reporting Sir.
I’ve served my time in Hell.

Written and copyright by: David Lee Bell
1968
USMC 1968-1971
Used with Special Permission of the Author
Copyright © 1968 - All Rights Reserved
and may not be duplicated without permission

Investigator David L Bell (Retired)
Richland County Sheriff's Dept., Columbia, SC

April 10, 2014

This poem was written after getting my wife’s 19 years perspective of being a police officer’s wife.


“He Does it For You!”

He doesn’t do it for the money,
Cause surely there’s something better to do,
He says, “Someone has to do it!”
So really, he does it for you.

His eight to twelve hours is from call to call,
From a murder to a cat in a tree,
You say he’s never around when you really need him,
But without him, where would you be?

You curse him when you get a speeding ticket,
And scream there’s something better he could do,
But have you looked at how many deaths there are on the highways,
So really, he’s doing it for you.

He’s always seeing so much bad in the world,
He really doesn’t know what to do,
He wonders sometimes if it’s even worth it,
But he knows he has to do it for you.

Each day when he leaves for work,
And I always kiss him good-bye,
I don’t know if I’ll see him again,
Cause the day might be the day he dies.

So many times he comes home from work,
And I see a small tear in his eyes,
I ask him what is the problem dear?
And he says another innocent person has died.

You always say a cop isn’t human,
Cause at a tragedy he’s cool from the start,
But you don’t have to live with him,
And watch his mind and heart break apart.

I remember one hot June night at work,
His supervisor came, “Your husband’s been hurt!”, he said,
It was such a long ride to the hospital,
They wouldn’t say if he was alive or dead.

Crime is always on the increase,
The streets a battle ground,
And when one in “Blue” is slain,
At the funeral-taps will sound.

He’ll lay in a flagged draped coffin,
An honor for those who die for this land,
Just like the Army, Navy and Marines,
He died by the enemies hands.

Most ordinary citizens won’t be at the funeral,
But you’ll see plenty of people wearing blue,
You’ll see dozens of marked patrol cars,
Honoring the one who died for you.

Written by David L Bell Copyright © 1991
Retired Deputy Sheriff after over 38 years
Richland County Sheriff’s Dept
Columbia, SC

Investigator David L Bell (Retired)
Richland County Sheriff's Dept., Columbia, SC

April 10, 2014

In Honor of your Sacrifice and for your family and friends, I salute you as a HERO! May God
Give the family and friends the strength and faith to deal with this tragic loss. Words can not express my sorrow!

"The Badge"

He starts his shift each day
To respond to calls unknown.
He drives a marked patrol car.
A police officer he is known.

He's paid by the citizens' taxes
To make it safe on the streets.
But he usually has a second job
'Cause a waitress has his salary beat.

Now he doesn't know a holiday
'Cause he works all year round.
And when Thanksgiving and Christmas finally arrive
At his home he cannot be found.

He's cursed and assaulted often,
The one whos blood runs blue.
He seldom ever gets a thanks,
To some he's just a fool.

His friends are always other cops
'Cause people just don't understand
That underneath his badge and gun,
He's just another man.

He knows there might not be a tomorrow
In this world of drugs and crime.
And he gets so mad at the court system
'Cause the crooks don't get any time.

And each day when he leaves for work,
He prays to God above.
Please bring me home after my shift
So I can see the ones I love.

But tonight he stops a speeding car,
He's alone down this ole' highway.
It's just a little traffic infraction.
He does it everyday.

Well, he walks up to the driver's window,
And his badge is shining bright.
He asked the guy for a driver's license,
When a shot rang through the night.

Yes, the bullet hit its mark,
Striking the officer in the chest.
But the Department's budget didn't buy
Each officer a bullet-proof vest.

So he lay on the ground bleeding.
His blood wasn't blue - His blood was red.
And briefly he thought of his loved ones
'Cause in a moment the officer was dead.

In the news they told the story
Of how this officer had died.
And some who listened cared less,
But those who loved him cried.

Well, they buried him in uniform
With his badge pinned on his chest.
He even had his revolver,
He died doing his best.

Written By:
David L. Bell

Richland County Sheriff's Department
Columbia, South Carolina
Used with Special Permission of the Author
Copyright © 1993 - All Rights Reserved
and may not be duplicated without permission

Investigator David L Bell (Retired)
Richland County Sheriff's Dept., Columbia, SC

April 10, 2014

R.I.P my brother in blue and may your family take comfort in knowing that you are living with the Angels

Marilyn McConnell (Sgt)
Birmingham Police Dept. (retired)

April 10, 2014

May God comfort those you left behind as we will keep your family and friends in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you for a lifetime of service and may you rest in peace.

Darlene Newton
friend of Story County Sheriff's Office

April 10, 2014

Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of Officer Cortijo. May you RIP

Ron Skeeters
Son of Bernie Skeeters ISP E.O.W. 5-20-82

April 10, 2014

Officer Cortijo... So saddened to hear the news.

May you rest in peace after having served those around you. My thoughts are with you, your family, fellow officers and friends.

Reserve Officer G. Krystof
Los Angeles Police Department

April 10, 2014

RIP Brother

Deputy Anita Price
Bexar County Sheriff's Office, San Antonio, Texas

April 10, 2014

Rest in Peace, Hero. Thank you for your services to our great country, and for your ultimate sacrifice. May God comfort your family, co-workers and friends. God Bless You, Hero.

Noranne Stubbs Lenox
AZ Department of Public Service

April 10, 2014

To the family, friends and co-workers of Officer Chris Cortijo- my sincere sympathies to all of you dealing with this tragedy. I am sure that he had done a lot of good work and helped many people in his many years on the L.A.P.D.. He will be forever remembered and honored in our profession.

Sgt. Scott Bodah
Syracuse, New York Police Department

April 10, 2014

My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family my brother in blue. You paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty with your life and we are proud of you. Rest in Peace.

Sergeant
Visalia Police Department

April 10, 2014

Thank for you service to your country....RIP Officer Cortijo...my thoughts & prayers are with your family, friends & coworkers...
Semper Fi

Val Naugle

April 10, 2014

The last time that I actually remember seeing Christopher Cortijo was back in Year 1994, when He attended one of my “Officer Survival” classes. With permission of Former LAPD SWAT Sergeant Frank Mika (RIP), and the commanding officer for LAPD‘s Training Bureau, I was permitted to create an entirely-different class for motor officers. With the assistance of my partner (Curtis Woodle), my experiment proved to be “so-radical” and “thought-provoking,“ that what Curtis and I did during those classes, became standard training for hundreds of LAPD motor officers. My study was later included in a book which was published by Calibre Press. Having my study included in a book published by one of the foremost-recognized group of law enforcement subject matter experts in-the-world, what was not only surprising, but also quite-gratifying. However, what was more-gratifying, is what I will share here regarding Officer Cortijo and one of His Fellow Classmates, who had attended those classes of mine.:

A few months after those special motor officer classes had ended, I received a telephone call from Officer Cortijo. Being A Former United States Marine, Officer Coritjo stated that he felt compelled to call me, because of my Marine background. He asked me if I had heard about a recent LAPD traffic enforcement vehicle pullover officer-involved-shooting (OIS) involving one of his fellow classmates. When I informed him that I had not, He went-on to provide details of the OIS, and He stated that it was because of what Curtis and I had taught during those classes, that a suspect armed with a handgun, lying-in-wait in the backseat of a car (and waiting to ambush the motor officer), was instead, shot by the motor officer, and was later taken-into-custody, without further incident.

It is a bit ironic that after so many such “hairy situations” during His 26 year career,“ Officer Cortijo (who had arrested more than 3000 DUI suspects), while stopped for a red light, would fall as the result of an alleged DUI driver.

(May You Rest - In - Peace, Devil Dawg)

Semper Fi,
“Major Pain”

P. S.: A donation account for Officer Cortijo’s family was set up by the Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union.

Michael B. Parlor

April 10, 2014