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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Memorial signs honoring fallen Los Angeles Airport Police Officer Tommy Scott were installed on the north and southbound portions of the San Diego (405) Freeway near the Los Angeles International Airport, officials said Monday.
Scott, 35, was killed April 29, 2005, while attempting to apprehend a man allegedly intent on crashing a vehicle into an airplane on the LAX airport runaway, according to Julie Banz of the Los Angeles Airport Police Officers Association.
The Officer Tommy Scott Memorial freeway signs were installed on June 24, Banz said, and the official dedication ceremony for the signs was held June 29.
Scott joined the Los Angeles Airport Police on Oct. 7, 2001, graduating from Rio Hondo Police Academy on Feb. 21, 2002. Before that, he worked as an aquatic supervisor for the Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation for 15 years. Scott was serving as a field training officer at the time of his death.
"The signs will not only ensure that Scott's sacrifice will never be forgotten," LAAPOA President Marshall McClain said in a statement, "but also serve as a reminder to all that the men and women who wear the badge honorably put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve our communities."
Since Scott's death, LAAPOA has kept his memory alive through a variety of events and programs, such as the Tommy Scott Memorial 5K and 10K LAX Run, held in partnership with the Los Angeles Airport Police Athletics & Activities League, Los Angeles World Airports and the Association of Airport Employees, and the Tommy Scott Memorial Scholarship Fund, which has provided scholarships to dozens of deserving students in his memory over the years, union officials said.