Collection of Articles about Police Officers Killed by Semi- Automatic ...

"Many of us hoped that this was all a nightmare when we woke up this morning, and we
would come to work and find Jake smiling," said Lt. Carl Deeley of the Los Angeles
County Sheriff's Department, his eyes full of tears as he remembered his co-worker and
friend. "But obviously, that's not what happened."
Body and dental X-rays will help confirm if the remains are Beck's and an autopsy will
determine a cause of death, said Lt. David Smith with the Los Angeles County Coroner's
Office.
Also found among the ashes of the home were more weapons, ammunition, a floor safe
from which a water damaged photograph was retrieved and a law enforcement badge.
Also burned inside the garage were two sport utility-type vehicles, one containing even
more firearms, including a rifle with a scope, eight bullet holders from various caliber
weapons and a semiautomatic pistol.
Local and federal officials began a search for Beck's body and other evidence at daylight
Saturday.
After being checked and rechecked, remnants of the home were placed into large
donated trash containers. As they were moved in and out of the typically quiet
neighborhood, neighbors pulled up lawn chairs and watched with their children.
Others in the northern Los Angeles County neighborhood gathered in groups and spoke
of the previous day's events that left the community in shock and disbelief.
While some of the material collected at the home will be thrown away, the remainder
was transported to Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic where it is being saved for
evidence.
"It's a long, painstaking process," Deeley said.
Some of the deputies who were involved in the shootout Friday returned to the home
Saturday morning to revisit the scene where one of their own was gunned down.
"Deputies are trying to make some sense out of this," said an emotional Rodriguez who
hugged fellow deputies, friends and well-wishers who had gathered outside the Brooks
Circle home. "It's been extremely difficult. We're still in shock. "
Rodriguez said he was grateful for the community's overwhelming support for Kuredjian
and his department.
"We're all family, we all live and work here," Rodriguez said. "We all love Jake and will
never forget him."
It was a tip from neighbors that led federal agents to Beck's home in search of firearms
that he had boasted about.
With a criminal record, Beck, 35, was not allowed to possess weapons, officials said.
Beck had been a police officer but was dismissed from the Arcadia Police Department in
1988, officials said.
Authorities said Beck was jailed twice in the last 10 years for committing crimes ranging
from burglary and auto theft to possession of unlawful weapons and impersonating a
police officer.
After he killed Kuredjian, Beck continued his sporadic shooting and refused to negotiate
with authorities, officials said. Tear gas was used to force him into the lower portion of
the home and get him to surrender.
Shortly after noon a fire broke out in the second story of the home. The cause of the fire
is still under investigation.