WHITTIER (CNS) - A son of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy killed by a gang member during a pedestrian stop in Lynwood in 1995 is scheduled to graduate today from the department's training academy.
Joseph Blair, who will be sworn in as a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, was 6 years old when his father, Deputy Stephen Wayne Blair, was killed on May 12, 1995. He was 31.
“His brutal and untimely death changed Joseph's life forever, but it created a drive in him to be more like the father he missed growing up,” according to a sheriff's department statement.
In a post dated Feb. 25 on the Officer Down Memorial Page dedicated to his father, the younger Blair wrote, “Dad, it is great to finally follow in your footsteps in becoming a deputy sheriff.”
“I think of you every day and I know you are watching over me. When times are tough I think of you to help me through those tough times. It brings great joy to my heart to hear that you are not forgotten and to hear how much of a difference you made in people's lives within the community as well as the department.
“I am going to do everything I can to make you proud. With the help from you and my fellow academy recruits, I know I can achieve the goal of deputy sheriff. I love and miss you Dad.
“You will never be forgotten.”