Obituaries

Service for Fallen LAPD Officer Scheduled for Wednesday

He was killed Friday in Beverly Hills when a dump truck crashed into his squad car.

A rosary service will be held Wednesday night in memory of Los Angeles police Officer Nicholas Choung Lee, who was killed when his patrol car was struck by a dump truck in Beverly Hills.

Lee, 40, died at the scene of the crash, which occurred around 8 a.m. Friday near Robert Lane and Loma Vista Drive in Beverly Hills, about one block across the city line. His partner, a rookie officer just three months out of the police academy, was hospitalized but was released Saturday night.

The pair were responding to an "unknown trouble" call when the crash occurred.

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An investigation into the crash is continuing, but LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said last week the initial indication appears to be that the truck, which wound up on its side after striking the patrol car, may have lost its brakes.

A 16-year veteran who received more than 70 commendations, Lee had previously been assigned to the Van Nuys and Wilshire stations prior to the Hollywood Station, police said.

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Lee is survived by his wife and two young daughters.

The rosary service will be held at 7 p.m. at St. Basil Catholic Church, 3611 Wilshire Blvd.

Funeral services are scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., followed by a graveside service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 1712 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale.

Lee was the 205th LAPD officer to die in the line of duty, according the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing LAPD officers. The last was SWAT Officer Randy Simmons in 2008, according to Officer Nuria Vanegas of the LAPD's Media Relations Section.

Two LAPD officers died in Iraq in 2010 while serving in the U.S. military, she said.

A memorial fund has been set up for Lee's family. Donations can be made to Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union/Attention: Nicholas Lee/Blue Ribbon Fund, P.O. Box 10188, Van Nuys, CA, 91410.

--City News Service


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