Honoring San Diego Police Officer Richard “Rich” Valenzuela, fellow officers and firefighters held a procession Tuesday on Interstate 805 in Kearny Mesa, with an officers’ salute on the overpass bridge on Balboa Avenue as the funeral caravan of police motorcycles and vehicles passed underneath on the freeway.
Valenzuela served four years in the U.S. Air Force before joining the SDPD in 2007.
When he was 35, he learned he had stage four colon cancer, according to the San Diego Police Officers Association. He battled cancer for seven years, but he died on July 22.
Valenzuela was born in Hermosillo, Mexico, and was fluent in English and Spanish, according to the association. Because he was bilingual, he was selected to work on Operation “Lengua Doble,” administered by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces.
He worked for 15 years as a patrol officer in Mid-City, Western, Southeastern, and Central Divisions. Valenzuela was selected to work in the Field Training Administration Unit. He was also certified with the Academy Instructor Certificate Program.
In 2013, Valenzuela met his wife, Erica. Four years later, he was diagnosed with cancer. He endured seven major surgeries and multiple chemotherapy sessions throughout his cancer battle, the SDPOA said.
Donations to the Valenzuela family can be made at sdpoa.org by clicking donate. Select “Widows and Orphans Fund” and enter “Rich Valenzuela Fund” under the add a note section. To send a meal to the family, visit mealtrain.com/trains/vkvk5w.
–City News Service
