5,000 Mourn Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy

SANTA ANA —  About 5,000 mourners filled a church Thursday to honor Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Steve Parsons, who died last weekend from injuries suffered in a traffic collision.

Outside, hundreds of police motorcycles were parked in rows, four abreast.

Inside, police from agencies throughout Southern California remembered one of their own, the first motorcycle officer in the history of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to die in the line of duty. They were reminded anew of their vulnerability while piloting two-wheelers.

Parsons, 36, was mortally injured June 19 when a 77-year-old woman traveling through a red light at 50 mph struck his motorcycle, throwing him 60 feet.

The 10-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department remained in a medically induced coma until the evening of June 24, when family members authorized doctors to remove him from life support at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo.

Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona said Parsons, the father of two small children, was “in the wrong place at the wrong time. . . .”

“Nobody could have expected entering an intersection 15 seconds after the light had gone green that someone could have run a red light,” Carona said. “Every single day [officers] know something like this can happen. No matter how good they are, how hard they train.”

The driver, Sylvia Steinhardt of Laguna Hills, has not been charged in the accident, which remains under investigation.

In Thursday’s emotional service at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, friends and colleagues recalled Parsons as a sometimes humorous man who was devoted to his family, and as a no-nonsense law officer with a reputation for writing more than his share of tickets.

“The first time I met Steve Parsons was for a traffic stop; then he writes me a citation,” said Carona, as laughter echoed through the sanctuary.

Deputy Brian Hall explained why other motorcycle officers nicknamed Parsons “Iceman”: He once stopped a Catholic priest who was rushing to administer last rites to a parishioner. Parsons made the clergyman wait as he wrote a citation.

“Nobody gets a break from Steve,” Hall said.

Drawing from Psalm 23, the Rev. Chuck Smith said Parsons, like David, “wielded a rod and staff as he was enduring to make that neighborhood the safest place to drive.”

A video was played showing Parsons with his wife, Kathy, daughter Kelsey, 6, and son Nathan, 3.

The officer rarely worked overtime, friends said, because it took him away from his family.

Gov. Gray Davis, who was in Orange County the day Parsons was struck, called him “a true California hero” in a letter read by Carona.

In closing remarks, Carona said, “Every police officer is a servant of God.”

“When God calls one of his children home, it is not our role to question his decision, but rather to simply ask, ‘Father, what is it you would have us do for his children and family?’ ”

Moments later, Carona escorted Kathy Parsons from the church. They marched slowly behind a piper, who played a dirge and led them and family members between two long rows of uniformed officers who saluted the widow and her children as they made their way to a waiting limousine.

Parsons’ body was cremated and his ashes were inurned at Pacific View Memorial Park in Newport Beach.