Air Force policeman’s name added to memorial

Keith Paul

Friday, May 18, 2001 | 9:28 a.m.

Names on the Southern Nevada Law Enforcement Memorial and the dates of their deaths:

Area police today are adding the 20th name to a list they hope grows no larger.

A star will be unveiled on the Southern Nevada Law Enforcement Memorial with the name of Air Force Tech. Sgt. Charles "Wes" Simons III during an annual service. Simons was hit by a car while directing traffic in front of Nellis Air Force Base on Nov. 17, 1999, and died two days later.

Simons was hit two days before he was supposed to pick up an engagement ring for his fiancee, Claudia Duarte.

"He already bought the ring, but he never got to pick it up," Duarte said. "The whole thing is still such a shock. We were about to get married."

Simons was directing traffic at the base's main gate after a bomb threat was made to the base. Simons, the on-duty patrol supervisor, was hit by a motorist, officials said. No bomb was found.

Duarte said she wants those who made the threat to know how their prank took one life and left her devastated.

"I just want them to know the consequences of what they did," she said. "The kid that hit him didn't mean to hurt anyone. I don't blame him. He has to live with what happened."

Each year local, state and federal officers gather to honor the officers who have been killed while on duty in Southern Nevada. Each day hundreds of people pass by the large rock with names of the slain officers engraved on brass stars in front of Las Vegas City Hall.

"Officers dedicate their lives to ensure that we can live and raise our families in safety," Undersheriff Richard Winget said. "We owe it to them to remember, not how they died, but for what they lived."

Nationwide in 2000, 51 law enforcement officers were slain in the line of duty and 83 officers were accidentally killed while on duty, according to FBI statistics. The totals were an increase from 1999, when 42 officers were slain and 65 were accidentally killed in the line of duty.

Of the 51 officers killed nationwide, 25 percent were slain during traffic stops.

"A cop never knows if the next motorist they are pulling over is their neighbor or a violent felon with a gun," Winget said.

Duarte said officers don't receive the recognition and respect they should for putting themselves in harm's way.

"I think there should be a lot more respect for what police do," she said. "Most people think the police are just the guys that are going to give them a ticket, but don't think of the danger the police put themselves through."

Simons, who served 18 years in the Air Force, liked being a security policeman in Las Vegas, where he lived for seven years, Duarte said.

"The only thing that made him sad was if he had to arrest someone and their children were watching," Duarte said.

While almost 18 months have passed since Simons died, Duarte said the pain and grief makes it seem "like it happened last week for me."