"It is with great pleasure that we embark on yet another adventure,
yet, as always, our adventure has been tempered with yet another
loss of one of our fellow police officers. It is our hope that by
thus honoring Officer Isaac Espinoza that his name and legacy will
still be remembered in honor and that his memory will not soon fade.
We also wish to assure his family that his sacrifice will never be
forgotten."
On
Sunday, January 9th 2005, the
members of the Isaac Espinoza Kilimanjaro Memorial Expedition
team will board aircraft from all over North America, to converge on
the continent of Africa. Their purpose if to summit Kilimanjaro, the
highest point on the African continent, in memory of Office Isaac
Espinoza, an officer of the San Francisco Police Department who was
killed in the line of duty in April, 2004. This expedition is
dedicated to his life, service and memory.
The Route
The
team will be following the "Rongai" Route to the summit of the
mountain on Kibo Peak,
at 5895m (19340ft).
Rongai is a small village near the Kenyan border. This route is the
only approach to the summit from the north side of the mountain. The
route typically takes 6 to 8 days to follow.
To avoid altitude
sickness and failure, it is important to acclimatize by ascending
slowly and steadily.
Our
first expedition of 2005, under the generous sponsorship of The North Face and
Horace Small, is to 19,340-foot Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. The
Kilimanjaro Memorial Expedition will be carried out to honor
the
life, service and sacrifice of
Officer Isaac
Espinoza of the San Francisco Police Department.
On Saturday evening, April 10, at
about 9:30, Officers Isaac Espinoza and Barry Parker were working plain clothes
undercover in San Francisco’s Bayview District. The officers spoke to a
suspicious man standing on a corner. The man suddenly fired an assault weapon at
the officers. Officer Espinoza, 29, died later that evening from his injuries.
Isaac Espinoza joined the San
Francisco Police Department on March 25, 1996. He was assigned to Southern
Police Station in September 1996, then transferred to Bayview Station in January
1997.
He was married to his wife Renata for 7 years, and had one daughter, Isabella, 3
years old. He was a resident of South San Francisco. More information about
Officer Espinoza can be found
on the San
Francisco Police Department's web site.
About the
Kilimanjaro Expedition Team
The team making
the trip to Africa in January to summit Kilimanjaro is made
up of a group of experienced climbers and officers from all
around North America, including two team members from San
Francisco Police Department's Bayview Station, where Officer
Espinoza worked.
-
Keith McPheeters - Sergeant, Farmington NM Police
Department
-
Rocky Fails - Bicycle Patrol Officer, Farmington NM
Police Department
-
Stu Frink - Motor Officer, Washington State Patrol
-
Chris Singleton - Patrol Officer, San Jose CA,
Police Department
-
Kaley Erickson - Battalion Chief (ret.), United
States Forest Service
-
Shane Lueddeke - Patrol Officer, San Jose CA Police
Department
-
Spencer Berntsen - Officer, Bremerton WA Police
Department
-
Mark Newcomb - Sergeant, Narcotics and Vice
Division, Whitehall OH Police Department
-
Gerry Crispo - Constable, Royal Canadian Mounted
Police, NB Canada
-
Carson Hagerman - Quartermaster, Fredericton NB
Police Force, Canada
-
Rick Bruce - Captain, Bayview District Commander,
San Francisco CA Police Department
-
Greg Suhr - Deputy Chief, Operations Division, San
Francisco CA Police Department
-
Steve Evans - Civilian, Cops on Top Board of
Directors, Las Vegas NV
Kilimanjaro Expedition
in the News
Here are a few
mentions recently in the media from coverage of the
expedition. More new about Cops on Top can be found on the
News page.
