Riverside police returned to the intersection where a colleague was shot and killed four years ago in an ambush shooting by former Los Angeles officer Christopher Dorner.
The tribute to Riverside Officer Michael Crain, 34, marks a somber day for the law enforcement community. On Feb. 7, 2013, Crain was fatally shot and fellow officer Andrew Tachias was injured when they were attacked by ex-Los Angeles Police Department Officer Dorner during his nearly two-week Southern California rampage that ended in a shootout at a burning cabin in the San Bernardino County mountains.
Crain, a Marine and 11-year veteran of the Riverside Police Department, and Tachias, who had joined the department about two months before the shooting, were ambushed at about 1:30 a.m. near Magnolia and Arlington avenues in Riverside. Crain was born in Anaheim, the first of three children, and grew up in the Riverside area. The 1996 Redlands High School graduate served two tours in Kuwait as a rifleman in the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 3rd Battalion 1st Marines and was promoted to sergeant.
Crain then joined the Riverside Police Department, becoming a sworn officer in August 2001.
Mourners have gathered at the intersection where he was killed every year since the shooting. A tribute to Cain and Tachias is played over police radio.
"There's going to be a bond that lasts," said Officer Ryan Railsback. "It's our way of paying tribute to Mike and showing his family that we care. We're here for you."
The Riverside police shootings were part of a revenge plot against law enforcement by Dorner, who had been fired by the LAPD in 2008. The killings began Feb. 3, 2013 when 28-year-old Monica Quan, the daughter of a former LAPD sergeant, and her 27-year-old fiance Keith Lawrence were gunned down in an Irvine condo parking complex.
A day later, Dorner's manifesto, in which he detailed his plot against law enforcement, was posted online.
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Just minutes before the Riverside officers were shot, Dorner opened fire on two LAPD officers in Corona. The officers had been assigned to protect people targeted in Dorner's manifesto.
One officer suffered a graze wound to the head from a bullet.
The manhunt ended Feb. 12 when Dorner died in a shootout and fire at a cabin in the Big Bear area. San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department detective Jeremiah MacKay was killed in the shootout.
Crain's partner, Tachias, suffered two broken arms and nerve damage in the Riverside ambush. In 2015, he was named head coach of the boys cross country team at Covina High School.
