LA County deputy honored during National Police Week

LOS ANGELES - It's National Police Week; a time to remember officers who've lost their lives. 

Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff, Sgt. Jamie Arakawa, who died in the early days of COVID-19 was among those honored in Washington DC.

His brother is Darren Arakawa, Chief of Police for the South Gate Police Department. In remembering Jamie at the Memorial he said "it helps, if you will, for some closure."

It was the first time at Police Week for Chief Arakawa who's led South Gate PD for the last two years. The widow of Jamie and their four children also attended.

His death, a reminder of the early, frightening and uncertain days of the pandemic. The Sergeant was just 52 when he got COVID. To give you an idea of the timeline of the pandemic, "the vaccine was not available at the time" his brother said. He noted that while so many were sent to work at home, first responders were still on the job and in the workplace.

As a Marine Reserve, Jamie Arakawa was in the first Gulf War. He'd been an LASD deputy for 25 years.

The Arakawa brothers are Mexican and Japanese. Tragedy struck the family when they were children. Their father was murdered in L.A. and the case remains unsolved.

LA County Sheriff Robert Luna was in DC to support his department as Jamie Arakawa’s name was etched into the Memorial Wall.