Public memorial planned to honor slain CHP Officer Andre Moye

Public memorial planned to honor slain CHP Officer Andre Moye

by Nathaniel Percy

A public memorial service for a California Highway Patrol officer who was shot and killed by a convicted felon earlier this week is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 20 in Riverside, authorities said.

The tribute to 34-year-old Andre Moye Jr., who was shot while writing up impound paperwork during a routine traffic stop Monday, will take place at 10 a.m. at Harvest Christian Fellowship Church, 6115 Arlington Avenue, according to the CHP.

The public was invited to attend, but seating could be limited due to the large number of law enforcement officials anticipated to attend, organizers said.

Officers were expected from “across the country,” said Charlene Ormonde, bereavement coordinator at the church.

CHP officials instead recommended watching the memorial service on the agency’s website, where it will be live streamed.

The service was anticipated to last about 90 minutes, officials said. A private funeral will be held following the memorial.

Prior to the service, a procession will lead Moye from Acheson & Graham Mortuary in Riverside to the church. The procession, scheduled to start at 7:50 a.m., will travel along Magnolia Avenue, Madison Avenue, Arlington Avenue and Adams Street before arriving at the church, officials said.

It will be the second memorial service held at the Riverside church campus this year. Law enforcement officers paid their final respects to CHP Sgt. Steve Licon, who authorities said was mowed down by a drunk driver as Licon wrote a traffic ticket on the 15 Freeway in Lake Elsinore on April 6.

The 2,800-seat sanctuary was filled to capacity for Licon’s memorial, while additional mourners sat on chairs on a hillside watching the tribute on a screen.

Ormonde said Tuesday’s service for Moye would operate in a similar fashion.

Moye, 34, was conducting a traffic stop in the area of Box Springs Boulevard and Eastridge/Eucalyptus Avenue near the 215 Freeway and was in the process of filling out impound paperwork when the suspect, 49-year-old Aaron Luther, retrieved a rifle from his truck and began shooting, officials said.

Moye was shot but was able to call for help, prompting a response from fellow CHP officers and Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies. Two other CHP officers were wounded in the gunfire and Luther was fatally shot, authorities said. Moye was flown to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, where he died.

One officer was at home recovering on Friday; the other remained at the Riverside University Medical Center. His condition was not released.

Luther had been pulled over because he was driving alone in the carpool lane with an expired license and no registration, according to his wife, McKenzie, whom he called during the stop.

Why he grabbed the rifle and fired at officers wasn’t known, though McKenzie Luther suggested he was depressed and may have been seeking to commit suicide by cop.

Moye, a three-year department veteran, was serving the community of Riverside since graduating from the CHP Academy in March 2017. He is survived by his wife Sara, and parents, sisters and brothers, authorities said.

Relatives said working for the CHP was Moye’s dream job.

“He was a very giving and caring person,” CHP Inland Division Chief Bill Dance said at a news conference a day after Moye’s death. “He was very well-liked and respected by the entire staff here.”

City News Service contributed to this report.

All credit goes to Nathaniel Percy Originally published on https://www.dailynews.com