"He was a good kid. It's a big loss to this community, especially when you're talking about someone who went into harm's way in a combat zone, then came home to protect your city and gets killed in his own backyard,'' said Sgt. Maj. Henry David Jr., his ROTC instructor. "It's pretty tough to deal with.''
Bonaminio, a four-year police officer, was on routine patrol about 9:45 p.m. when, with lights and siren on, he tried to pull over a stolen semi-truck believed to be involved in an earlier hit-and-run accident near the 60 Freeway. The driver of the trailerless cab sped down Market Street before pulling over in front of Riverside's Fairmount Park and running down a grassy field.
Shortly afterward, Bonaminio pulled over and ran after the suspect. Residents in nearby homes heard gunfire.
"It sounded like three pistol shots,'' said Shirley Wolfe, who lives a block away and heard the gunfire over the noise of her television.
Her husband went outside to investigate but couldn't see anything. The couple soon heard sirens as police swarmed the scene.
When backup officers arrived, they found Bonaminio on the ground bleeding from a gunshot wound. He was transported to Riverside Community Hospital, where he died, authorities said.
Assistant Police Chief Chris Vicino said the truck had only a front license plate, so Bonaminio was unable to radio it in. The officer never fired his gun, police said.
On Monday morning, police scoured the park grounds for evidence. Two police dogs and a volunteer crew with metal detectors assisted in the search.
Later, police released a photo of the suspect, whom they described as a black male in his mid-30s to mid-40s, about 6 feet 1 or 6 feet 2, with a slender build and possible facial hair. He was last seen wearing dark clothing and a light-colored baseball cap.
The photo was taken by a video camera inside the officer's patrol car, said Police Chief Sergio Diaz. It was taken after the suspect shot the officer and shows him as he is getting back into the cab to return it to the rental yard where it had been stolen, Diaz said.
"We're putting out the photo in hopes that somebody will see the suspect and do the right thing," Diaz said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday issued a statement offering his condolences to Bonaminio's family, and he ordered flags at the Capitol to be flown at half-staff.
A few miles to the west, family and friends descended on the modest home of the slain officer's parents, Joseph and Geraldine Bonaminio. The officer's brother and sister also live in the area. The family, when reached by telephone, declined to comment.
John Enriquez, Bonaminio's best friend, said the family was taking the news very hard. His mother was doing "terrible, that was her baby,'' he said.
Enriquez, an officer with the UC Riverside Police Department, said he met Bonaminio at the police academy in 2006.
"Army man and police officer. That's all he ever wanted to be," Enriquez said. "He's just really committed to work and working hard. He loved his family. Everyone is real close. He didn't have a large extended family, but he was close with his immediate family."
Bonaminio loved his dogs, Enriquez said: Misters and Hank, a pug and a Boston terrier. He also held season tickets for the Anaheim Ducks.
Bonaminio graduated from Ramona High School in 2000. He was a military police officer in the Army, serving in Baghdad and Mosul, Iraq, as well as in Kuwait City and Hohenfels, Germany. When he left the military to join the Riverside Police Department in 2006, he remained in the Army Reserves and was called back to duty in Iraq in 2008-09.
Bonaminio's neighbors, though shaken by the news, said they knew little about him since the officer moved into the suburban Riverside community known as Orange Terrace about six months ago. His home was empty Monday afternoon, with a pumpkin outside his front door and a newspaper in the driveway. The porch light was still on.
"He was never here. He was working the night shift and was probably sleeping during the day," said Lily Velazquez, 25, who lives next door. "We just saw him enough to say hello and goodbye."
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call Det. Ron Sanfilippo at (951) 353-7105 or Det. Greg Rowe at (951) 353-7130.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-riverside-officer-20101109,0,3903510.story
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's an updated story:
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 A photo of the suspect was
taken by a video camera
inside the officer's car |
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Riverside police officer may have been killed with own gun, authorities say
by Phil Willon
Los Angeles Times
November 9, 2010
RIVERSIDE -- Riverside police said Tuesday afternoon that they have not recovered the gun belonging to Officer Ryan Bonaminio, who was shot and killed Sunday night by an unidentified suspect who is still at large.
Police said the officer may have been shot with his own weapon but they are still investigating that possibility.
A reward of $385,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. The city and county of Riverside, the county district attorney's office, local and federal police agencies, and the Morongo Indian tribe contributed to the reward. |
Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz said he believes the unidentified suspect is a "veteran" of the state prison system and a career criminal. He obviously has specialized knowledge of how to operate a big-rig, Diaz said at Tuesday's news briefing, the first the department has held in the case.
Bonaminio, a 27-year-old Iraq war veteran who had been with the police department since 2006, was on routine patrol about 9:45 p.m. Sunday when he tried to pull over a stolen semi believed to have been involved in a hit-and-run collision near the 60 Freeway.
The driver of the trailerless cab sped south on Market Street before pulling over in front of Riverside's Fairmount Park and running down a grassy field. Bonaminio was running after the suspect when he was shot.
When other officers arrived, they found Bonaminio on the ground. He was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where he died of his injuries.
The truck had only a front license plate, so Bonaminio was unable to radio it in. The officer never fired his gun, police said.
On Monday, police released a photo of the suspect, whom they described as a black male in his mid-30s to mid-40s, about 6 feet 1 or 6 feet 2, with a slender build and possible facial hair. He was last seen wearing dark clothing and a light-colored baseball cap.
The photo was taken by a video camera inside the officer's patrol car, Diaz said. It was taken after the suspect shot the officer and shows him as he is getting back into the cab to return it to the rental yard it had been stolen from, Diaz said.
“We need to use every resource available to catch the despicable coward who murdered a young officer whose only desire was to protect the people in our community,” Supervisor John Tavaglione said Tuesday in a prepared statement announcing the county's contribution to the reward fund.
Bonaminio's father, Joe, lamented the unfairness of his son's death -- serving two tours in Iraq, only to return home and be shot to death at home.
“He was a great human being,” Joseph Bonaminio said. “He knew exactly what he wanted to do. This was his life. That's all he ever wanted to be was a police officer.... He took an oath to serve this country and he did it with the utmost honor. And he came home to this.”
He said his son was a dedicated police officer: “If that guy would have kept running, my son would have chased him all the way to China. There would have been no end to the chase.”
Joseph Bonaminio said he and his wife have not been able to bring themselves to look at a picture of the suspect -- or any media coverage. “I'm afraid if I saw a picture of this individual, I don't know what I would do,” he said.
He pleaded with the suspect and anyone with information to come forward. “If you know this individual, make him come forward,” Joseph Bonaminio said. “Let's put an end to this. I'm just looking for justice, that's all.”
A funeral service for Bonaminio, a Riverside native who graduated from Ramona High School in 2000, is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Grove Community Church in Riverside. He will be buried at the Riverside National Cemetery.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/riverside-police-officer-shot-.html |
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Suspect held in slaying of Riverside police officer
by Phil Willon
Los Angeles Times
November 10,
2010
Reporting from Riverside-- Riverside police early Wednesday announced the arrest of a suspect in the slaying of a Riverside police officer during a traffic stop Sunday night.
Earl Ellis Green, 44, of Rubidoux, was arrested by police and FBI agents at a Target store in Riverside about 8 p.m. Tuesday and was booked on suspicion of murder and a parole violation, according to a Riverside Police Department statement issued just before 3 a.m.
Officer Ryan P. Bonaminio, 27, was shot and killed after pursuing the driver of a stolen semi-truck believed to have been involved in a hit-and-run collision near the 60 Freeway. The officer may have been shot with his own gun after he chased down the driver, who had jumped out of the big rig, and fought with him in a city park, authorities said Tuesday.
Police did not disclose any more information about Green's arrest, or the evidence that led investigators to identify him as a suspect, saying only that the investigation is ongoing. A Target store employee said dozens of heavily armed officers swarmed the store's parking lot when the arrest was made, but declined to provide any more details, saying that store management had instructed employees not to discuss the incident.
The arrest came less than five hours after Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz at a Tuesday afternoon press conference announced that $390,000 in reward money had been raised for information leading to an arrest and conviction. The department also released a seven-second video of a suspect jumping into the big rig and fleeing, images captured by the camera in Bonaminio's squad car.
"We think this almost $400,000 in reward money that's been offered will loosen some tongues. It's a lot of money to forgo for protecting a criminal like this," Diaz said.
At the news conference, the officer's father, Joseph Bonaminio, also had urged the videotaped suspect to turn himself in to "let justice do its job." He said his son, a 27-year-old Army veteran who returned from his second tour in Iraq just a year ago, deserved nothing less.
"He's been home one year. He gave his life on our soil, and we want to know why," Joseph Bonaminio said, standing before the media with his wife and daughter. "I just wish this person would just come forward. Those people out there, if you know this individual, make him come forward. Let's put an end to this. I'm just looking for justice, that's all."
Witnesses told detectives they saw the officer and truck driver in an altercation in Fairmount Park seconds before shots were fired. The man fled in the semi-truck, escaping about a minute before other officers arrived to find Bonaminio mortally wounded on the grass.
Bonaminio's gun was not recovered, and investigators said it was unclear if he fired his weapon. Det. Ron Sanfilippo said it's "very possible" that the suspect was able to get Bonaminio's gun and shoot him with it.
"We're looking into that," he said, "but we don't know for sure."
Detectives quickly suspected that the killer was a former inmate of the state prison system and a trained big-rig truck driver, which would greatly narrow the pool of suspects.
Court records show that Green has been in prison before. They show a criminal record going back almost three decades, including convictions for domestic violence, battery of a police officer, selling drugs, and vehicle theft.
The truck had been stolen from a rental lot just outside city limits; the man returned the rig to the same lot after the shooting. Sanfilippo on Tuesday said analysts are processing the vehicle for fingerprints and other possible evidence.
Although the incident will be reviewed thoroughly, the police chief said that Bonaminio appeared to have followed proper procedure in trying to apprehend the suspect, and that there was no evidence he knew the man had a gun.
In cases in which suspects are believed to be armed, officers are instructed to wait for backup, Diaz said.
"I certainly don't blame Officer Bonaminio for any of the decisions he made on that fateful night, and there's nothing that jumps out at me as a mistake made," Diaz said. "Officers put themselves in the face of danger, in the way of danger, all the time. ... That's police work. That's what we do."
On Tuesday, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, Riverside City Council and Riverside County district attorney's office each approved $100,000 in reward money.
The U.S. Marshals Service, FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives combined to add $55,000; the Riverside Police Officers Assn. contributed $25,000; and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians contributed $10,000 to the reward fund and $10,000 to a family memorial fund.
Supervisor John Tavaglione, whose son served with Bonaminio on the police force, said the board authorized the reward to ensure that there was "quick justice to bring this despicable coward who took Ryan's life to justice and put him away not for life, but to death. And I hope that happens very quickly."
Bonaminio was a Riverside native who joined the Army after graduating from Ramona High School in 2000. He served two tours in Iraq as a military police officer.
Army Spc. Brian J. Roy remembers serving in Mosul, Iraq, with Bonaminio in 2008-09.
"I always had to hand it to him; he always looked after us," Roy wrote in an e-mail. "He was a great mentor to all of us. He was always easy to talk to whenever we had problems. Sgt. Bonaminio was a great friend and a great brother to us all."
The funeral for Bonaminio is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Grove Community Church in Riverside. He will be interred at Riverside National Cemetery.
Donations may be made to the "Officer and Family Assistance Fund" via:
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Riverside Police Officers Assn.
1965 Chicago Ave., Suite B
Riverside, CA 92507
phone (951) 784-1034
http://www.rpoa.org
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http://mobile.latimes.com/wap/news/text.jsp?sid=294&nid=28255747&cid=16677&scid=1854&ith=0&title=Top+Stories |
