Each year on May 15, the National Association of Chiefs of Police, the American Federation of Police, the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum, and other police-related organizations honor federal, state and local law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice when they were killed in the line-of-duty.This story highlights a recent ceremony held by the US Customs & Border Protection bureau that honored Border Patrol agents murdered at the US-Mexican border.
In a historic event on Friday, the Murrieta Border Patrol Station was officially renamed in honor of two Border Patrol Inspectors who were killed in the line of duty nearly 41 years ago.
The station is now officially designated as the Theodore L. Newton, Jr. and George F. Azrak Border Patrol Station, which is the first and only Border Patrol Station in the county to be named in someone’s honor.
The dedication ceremony was made possible by HR 2728, which was legislation passed by Congress on June 24, 2008 and later signed into law by former President Bush on July 15, 2008. Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), who attended Friday’s dedication ceremony, was the sponsor of the bill.
Last month, the Murrieta City Council also voted to rename a road adjacent to the station as Newton-Azrak Street.
On June 17, 1967, Border Patrol Inspectors Theodore L. Newton, Jr. and George F. Azrak were working at a checkpoint on Highway 79 in Oak Grove, Calif., when they were kidnapped and brutally murdered by a group of drug smugglers.
Margaret Day, the daughter of Theodore Newton, spoke at the dedication ceremony. She said, “We are very blessed that this many years have gone by and they are not forgotten.”
Discussion
No comments for “Fallen heroes honored by US Border Patrol”