INDUSTRY (CNS) – The Pomona (60) Freeway/Seventh Avenue interchange in Hacienda Heights will be dedicated Monday as the Deputy Michael Richard Arruda Memorial Interchange in memory of the Industry Sheriff’s Station deputy a colleague accidentally killed during a motel shootout.
The dedication ceremony is set for 11 a.m. at the Industry Hills Expo Center, with speakers including Arruda’s fiancée, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Lidia Arruda, a position she also held in 2004 when Arruda was killed, Industry Sheriff’s Station Capt. Glenn Emery, retired sheriff’s department Capt. Mike Smith, the station’s captain when Arruda was killed, and Sen. Bob Archuleta.
The ceremony coincides with the 57th anniversary of Arruda’s birth, according to Fred Zermeno, Archuleta’s communications & special events director.
Signs on the Pomona Freeway near Seventh Avenue with the interchange’s name were installed Sunday, Zermeno told City News Service.
Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera, introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 115 in the 2023-24 legislative session that designated the interchange in Arruda’s memory and was passed without a dissenting vote in both houses.
Arruda “stated that one of the reasons he became a law enforcement officer was to be a role model and to make a positive difference in other people’s lives, and as a deputy sheriff, he was praised by his peers, supervisors, and members of the community for his tireless efforts to protect people, prevent incidents, and serve as a leader,” according to the resolution.
Arruda was shot in the neck as he and other deputies responded to a “shots fired” call at the Motel 6 in Hacienda Heights on June 9, 2004, and died six days later.
When deputies arrived, a man identified as Paul Smith fired at them from what looked like a semiautomatic pistol, but which was actually a pellet gun, sheriff’s homicide Capt. Ray Peavy said in 2004.
Deputies heard popping noises and saw what appeared to be smoke coming from the gun barrel, then fired about 10 times, killing Smith, Peavy said.
Investigators believe Arruda inadvertently stepped into his fellow deputies’ line of fire while trying to avoid a shot fired from Smith’s weapon, the sheriff’s department reported.
Lidia Arruda gave birth to Arruda’s daughter Savanna shortly after his death.
Savanna is a goalkeeper with the UC Irvine women’s soccer team and twice selected to the Big West Commissioner’s Honor Roll for her performance in the classroom. She has said she wants to enter emergency medical technicians school following graduation to gain clinical experience to go into medical school and eventually become an anesthesiologist.
Recent Comments