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Officer Kenneth Scott Wrede
West Covina Police Department
Date of Birth: February 12, 1957
Date Appointed:
End of Watch: August 31, 1983
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Officer Kenneth Scott Wrede, while on routine patrol, encountered an individual under the influence of PCP. Upon questioning the individual, an altercation ensued. When Ken was able to retreat to the cover of his squad car, to call for his back-up, the suspect reached in through the passenger side of the vehicle, pulled the shotgun out, still in its mounting, was able to arm it and shot Officer Wrede under the eye, killing him instantly.
Seconds later, three officers arrived on scene and the suspect attempted to kill them also. The suspect was subdued by a canine and his officer.
In 1984, the suspect was convicted of first degree murder, special circumstances and sentenced to the death penalty. He has filed appeals through the state Supreme Court and Federal Court and received three stays of execution.
Officer Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois, to parents, Ken and Marianne Wrede. At the age of eight years, he moved to California with his parents and three sisters, Nicki, Karen and Kerry Jo.
Through his years in junior high and high school, he excelled in playing the drums and participated in many award winning competitions.
He received his AA degree in criminal justice at Fullerton College and was preparing to pursue his BA degree at the time of his death. He was employed for five years at Knotts Berry Farm Amusement Park, as a security guard and then advanced to special deputy for the park, until he entered the Orange County Peace Officers Training Academy in 1980.
At the time of his death, Ken had been married to Denel Wrede for 11 months.
Kenny was ever the peacemaker at home and in social situations. He always desired to become a peace officer, but his ultimate goal was to he assigned an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
He loved people, could always see the good side of people, always had a smile and a kind word for those he interacted with. To honor Kenny, a grateful community of West Covina designated a new street in 1985, lined with 19 spacious homes, "Wrede Way" a fitting tribute to a brave, dedicated officer.
Like all fallen officers, Officer Ken Wrede's death leaves a painful void in the lives of his family and all whose lives he touched.
There was one moment that seemed to sum up the anguish felt by the hundreds of police officers, relatives and friends of slain West Covina Police Officer Kenneth Scott Wrede, 26, as he was laid to rest September 3. His young wife Denell, surrounded by family members, approached her husband's flag-draped coffin in the sanctuary of Bethany Baptist Church in West Covina, pressed her cheek to its smooth surface and whispered a final tearful good-bye.
Officers from 39 departments across California traveled to pay last respects to Wrede. Combined with his family and friends, a funeral procession three miles long accompanied the young man's casket to Forest Lawn Covina Hills, where a 21-gun salute and the solemn strains of a lone bugler sounding "Taps" bid him farewell.
Chaplain Gordon Coulter of the West Covina Police Department told those at the service that Wrede would be remembered as a true hero.
An honor guard of West Covina officers escorted the casket throughout the ceremony, black crosses emblazoned over their badges.
After the formal service had ended at the cemetery, Wrede's fellow officers filed past, peeling off their white gloves and placing them in a pile atop the casket before offering condolences to the family.
A farewell from Wrede's young wife of less than a year was read during the services: "To my beloved husband - this day I say good-bye to my friend. The one I loved, the one I laughed with, the one I dreamed with . . . and now I will love you forever, your adoring wife, Denell.
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