LAPD SWAT Officer James Veenstra is with his wife here at Northridge Hospital Medical Center. LAPD Captain Michelle Veenstra arrived shortly after her husband was admitted for emergency surgery to his face and jaw. His partner, SWAT Officer Randal Simmons, was shot in the neck during the same overnight standoff in Winnetka. Simmons died at the hospital before sunrise.
KPCC’s Patricia Nazario joins us for this live report from outside Northridge hospital.
LAPD SWAT Officer Randal Simmons, 51, was the first SWAT officer killed in the line of duty since the elite Special Weapons and Tactics team began in 1967. Photo: LAPD
LAPD SWAT Officer James Veenstra, 51, was shot in the face and jaw by 20-year-old Edwin Rivera at Rivera’s Winnetka home. Photo: LAPD
Since then: Simmons’ widow, Lisa Simmons, told his story in the book 41 D: Man of Valor: The Story of SWAT Officer Randy Simmons.
The Los Angeles Police Department honors SWAT Officer Randal D. Simmons.
This report is part of a five-part series on the killing of LAPD SWAT Officer Randal Simmons. See all five reports →
Header photo: Northridge Hospital Medical Center by Cbl62, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
