LA HABRA : Fellow Officers Observe a Painful Anniversary

One year ago today, Michael Osornio became the first La Habra officer to die on duty when a drunk driver slammed into his cruiser.

The Police Department is planning a memorial service at 9 p.m. tonight, at about the same time the 26-year-old rookie officer was hit.

“I like to think that Michael’s car may have kept some trick-or-treaters from being the victims,� last Halloween night, La Habra Police Chief Steven Staveley said.

Osornio’s colleagues are mounting Osornio’s badge behind glass at City Hall and hanging a plaque in his honor.

“The scar will always be there,� the chief said. “Every time I pin a badge on a new police officer and talk to them about what it means to be a police officer, I can’t help but think of him. . . . He represented that which is the best and finest in our society.�

Osornio had been a police officer just 14 months when he was killed. He had worked as a carpenter while putting himself through the police academy at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, said Guadalupe Osornio, his mother.

“He wanted so much to be a cop,� she said through tears. “He was so happy when he got the badge.�

His colleagues remember Osornio as a bright young man eager to be an officer.

“While his career with our department was short, he had a tremendous impact on our department,� said Sgt. Vernon Mangels, Osornio’s supervisor.

“Every time we arrest a drunk driver we remember Mike. He really enjoyed arresting drunk drivers and getting them off the streets. As fate would have it, he was killed by one.�

The night Osornio was slain, Officer Kari Armstrong was the first to arrive at the scene.

They both were patrolling the streets, and “I was just one light behind him,� she said. Then a police dispatcher alerted officers of a major collision, she said.

Osornio was called to the scene but didn’t respond. When Armstrong arrived, she found Osornio pinned inside his cruiser after a drunk driver broadsided him.

In April, Marco Villegas Ramirez, a La Mirada metal worker, was sentenced to six years after pleading guilty to charges stemming from the fatal crash.