California Highway Patrol officers from Sacramento to San Diego are mourning the loss of Sgt. Steve Licon, but Santa Ana, where he once worked, is seemingly feeling the loss more than most places.
The year was 1996, and CHP Officer Don Burt was working patrol out of this office. As a rookie, his wife said he'd get teased about his inexperience from everyone except one man, Licon.
Kristen Burt Cooper says there is an unspoken understanding among families of law enforcement officers who know every day in the field could be their last.
"So, when you have that as part of your job, it creates a bond different from almost all other jobs," Cooper, former CHP spouse, says.
CHP Officer Don Burt thought about becoming a teacher but believed he could touch more lives by wearing a uniform. He had worn the badge for slightly more than a year when he was shot and killed by a man he'd stopped for a traffic violation.
His wife was seven months pregnant and suddenly a widow.
What Cooper remembers about the days that followed were the people who brought food, wrote cards and stayed in touch.
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The one who stands out was her then husband's co-worker, Licon.
"He just extended himself to help any body he could," Cooper says. "That's who he was."
Cooper, like few others, understands the pain of his grieving wife.
"I know the family well enough to know shes a strong woman, and I know she has people surrounding her to help get her through this," Coopers says.
Cooper says there's no such thing as closure, that each generation coming after a line of duty death will also be affected. It's why she will be at the Licon's funeral, as he was there when her husband was laid to rest.
Cooper says, "We're on this earth once, and we share this life together no matter what we do. We just need to be there for one another."
Kristen says she last spoke with Licon around the time of the 20th anniversary of Burt's death. She says he was a man who went out of his way to stay in touch.
