CONTACT:  Sgt. Karla Ortiz
           (310) 877-0044  

 LOS ANGELES AIRPORT POLICE OFFICERS RAISE OVER $2,000 FOR SCHOLARSHIPS FROM ANNUALTOMMY E. SCOTT MEMORIAL RIDE 

(Los Angeles, California -- May 8, 2013)  Los Angeles Airport Police officers raised nearly $2,100 from a memorial ride to donate to the Tommy E. Scott Scholarship Fund available to college-bound children of airport employees.  The Third Annual Tommy E. Scott Memorial Ride was held on April 27, in honor of Airport Police Officer Tommy E. Scott, who was killed in the line of duty on April 29, 2005. The procession traveled from the Airport Police station at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Officer Scott’s gravesite in a Forest Lawn cemetery in North Hollywood, and then on to Malibu.   
Officer Scott joined Los Angeles Airport Police in 2001, and was 35 at the time of his death.  He was the first Airport Police officer to be killed in the line of duty during the 59-year history of the force.  Prior to joining the force, he served 15 years with the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.  Officer Scott was killed while stopping a suspicious man, William Sadowski, in a vehicle near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).  Sadowski was convicted of carjacking and first-degree murder on November 16, 2009, and was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. 
Airport Police Officers Julio Aparicio, George Chen, Paul Mosqueda, Robert Yanez, Rito Torres and Daniel Yu organized this year’s event, which attracted 60 officers and civilians (on personal time) to ride or drive personal motorcycles or vehicles the 28-mile route.  The number of participants is four times greater than last year’s participation.  A sum of $2,095 was raised from donations, T-shirt sales, and raffles.   
Officer Scott’s parents, Hubert and JoAnn Carter-Scott, requested the funds be donated to the Tommy E. Scott Scholarship Fund sponsored by the Association of Airport Employees (AAE), a non-profit organization.  Airport Police Motor Officers Julio Aparicio and George Chen presented a check to AAE President Jimmy Sparks during a recent AAE meeting.    
The Los Angeles Airport Police Division is the nation's premier aviation law-enforcement agency with over 1,100 specially trained police officers, security officers, and civilian staff protecting Los Angeles International, Ontario International, and Van Nuys airports. 

 
 (Left to Right) Association of Airport Employees President Jimmy Sparks, Motor Officer  
Julio Aparicio and Motor Officer George Chen

Photograph courtesy of Airport Police Officer Darrius Lewis