West Covina police observe anniversary of fellow officer’s slaying

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WEST COVINA >> Police in West Covina are marking the anniversary of the death of a 29-year-old fellow officer who was killed in a shootout with an escaped psychiatric patient 38 years ago.
West Covina police Officer Jay Warren Jackson made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty on Jan. 14, 1978, West Covina police spokesman Rudy Lopez said. Officers will be wearing black bands over their badges in his honor throughout the day.
The officer had been in pursuit of a fleeing car down the eastbound 10 Freeway when the suspect exited at Holt Avenue and spun out, officials said. The driver jumped out of his car and hid behind as police approached.
“The suspect opened fire on responding officers and Officer Jackson as they approached the now disabled vehicle, Lopez said. “Officer Jackson was struck by gunfire and succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter.”
Jackson’s name is one of three emblazoned on the West Covina Police Memorial, honoring police officers who died while serving West Covina. And like the other two fallen West Covina officers, a street sign marks the location of his slaying.
0114_NWS_SGT-L-JACKSON3Fellow officers shot and killed the suspect, who it was later learned had fled from a psychiatric facility and made threats of suicide to family and friends, according to Lopez.
Born in Pasadena on Nov. 7, 1948, Jackson was raised in West Covina. He joined the U.S. Army in 1968 and received an honorable discharge with the rank of sergeant four years later.
He married his wife, Patricia, in 1971 and the couple a daughter, Shauna, in 1973.
Jackson began his career with the Azusa Police Department in 1973, graduating the Rio Hondo Police Academy the following year. He joined the West Covina Police Department as a patrol officer in 1977.
In addition to his wife and daughter, Jackson is survived by his mother, Cora Jackson, and two sisters.

PHOTOS of fallen Officer Jay Warren Jackson, street sign, West Covina Police Memorial Courtesy of the West Covina Police Department.

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