LASD Deputy Shayne Daniel York honored by The Buena Park Police Department
There is no pain greater than losing your best friend or someone you love and admire. It can leave behind a void in your life that seems impossible to fill and you are left with a broken heart for a lifetime.
For the last 24 years, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, along with his family, friends, and at the time his fiancée, have felt those exact emotions after losing Deputy Shayne Daniel York in 1997, when he was brutally murdered during a robbery in the city of Buena Park.
In a true act of brotherhood that exists in law enforcement, the LASD was humbled and appreciative to hear Deputy Shayne York was being memorialized by the Buena Park Police Department.
On Thursday, May 13, 2021, at approximately 9 a.m., the Buena Park Police Department unveiled a new Buena Park Police Department Fallen Officer’s Memorial site.
The memorial was created and dedicated to honor Buena Park’s Fallen officers: Detective Darrel “Bud” Cate, Corporal Tyler Matthew Pinchot, Officer Daniel Ryan Ackerman and Deputy Shayne Daniel York because he was murdered in the City of Buena Park.
Family, friends, and law enforcement officers attended the memorial to remember our fallen heroes. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Honor Guard performed a 21 gun salute while Buena Park’s Police Honor Guard guarded the memorial.
Sergeant Roger Plumlee, President of the Buena Park Police Association and one of the collaborators of the memorial said, “When we unveil this memorial, we will see something very beautiful made of stone, granite and bronze. The symbolism of the memorial is to remind the community and all who see it, of the loss we have suffered and the loss the families have suffered and who continue to do it today. When I look out and see everyone in uniform, I see a living memorial and its incumbent on of all us to keep the memory of these four men alive and share their stories.”
Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who attended the ceremony, started his speech by thanking Buena Park Police Chief Corey S. Sianez, distinguished guests and the families of the fallen Police Officers in the audience. “It’s a touching tribute to the sacrifice of each and everyone one of them (fallen officers) and of you the families,” he said. “First and foremost you will always be in our thoughts and prayers; it’s a tribute we will never forget. Everything we do is a testament to their sacrifice and everyone here standing in uniform, everyone doing the job runs the risk of losing their life. It’s a testament of just the difficulties of the job and the times we live in.”
Chief Corey S. Sianez said, “This unveiling could not have happened at a better time during National Peace Officers Memorial Week. The week set aside to remember and recognize those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. The names on this memorial represent not only those that have sacrifice their own lives, doing what they love to do and serving their communities, but also those that remember the Buena Park Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Family. We are brothers and we knew them well. Although you have not seen the memorial yet, but you will very soon. We designed it to reflect the diversity of our department.”
The memorial depicts a touching and embracing moment when police officers comfort a fallen officer’s child with the plaques engraved with the names of the fallen officers below it. The memorial reads, “Remembering Their Service, Honoring Their Sacrifice.”
Deputy Shayne York was brutally murdered on the night of August 14, 1997 in the city of Buena Park. Deputy York and his fiancée, who was also a deputy, were both off-duty and unarmed. They were in a hair salon when two suspects stormed into the location and ordered everyone to lie on the floor as they took their purses and wallets.
When the suspects discovered a badge in Deputy York’s wallet, they immediately executed him by shooting him in the back of the head. Deputy York was rushed to the hospital where he died from his wounds. Both suspects were caught a short time later and were convicted for the murder of Deputy York.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department would like to send our sincerest thanks to the Buena Park Police Department for honoring our very own, Deputy Shayne York. The new memorial is a collaboration between Buena Park Police Department, Buena Park Police Association and the City of Buena Park. The goal of the new memorial is to capture the solemnity of the fallen officers but also the loss created from their ultimate sacrifice; leaving behind family, a law enforcement family and friends.
The new memorial stands directly in front of the Buena Park’s police station, and serves as a bitter reminder of the ultimate sacrifice police officers often take.
