I never thought of good things being in Riverside, California. To be honest, when I thought of Riverside, I thought of dingy, smog-stained skies, old low-income housing, a high rate of the population on welfare, lots of gangs with ugly prison tattoos, meth labs, and home shrines dedicated to the occult worship of Santa Muerte. I did not think well of Riverside, and when I found I had to drive through it I tried not to stop. Then I got an email from one of my LAPD friends. Some group called RESTMA was putting on a Steel Challenge style shoot to raise money for the families of fallen Placer County Detective Michael Davis Jr. and Pomona PD Officer Shaun Diamond. Both of these men were shot and murdered while on duty in October of 2014. Last year was not a good one for Law Enforcement. We lost way more officers than was the average in the proceeding years. The worst part is that those officers weren't killed by car crashes and heart attacks. In 2013, five officers were murdered in ambush style attacks. In 2014, that number jumped to 15. Our culture has shifted and now those who protect are being hunted. It makes sense from a criminal's point of view. Take away those who protect the population, and then there will be no stopping the predators. So Sunday morning found me driving under a lead grey sky, heading out to Riverside, to shoot a match in honor of my fallen brothers.

By match time the lead grey skies were a deep blue, fitting for a law enforcement fundraiser. Photo courtesy Laurel Yoshimoto

The RESTMA men ran the match well, smoothly, efficiently. It was interesting to see how well run a match was when the men running it also trained together on a regular basis. Instead of the hours of waiting that I expected, the 77 shooters got through eight stages in under four hours. At each stage a SWAT Operator RO'd and encouraged us on. Throughout the morning I started gleaning their story. RESTMA stands for Riverside Emergency Service Team Member's Association. "Emergency Service Team," is Riverside Sheriff's old name for what we currently call SWAT, Special Weapons and Tactics. Three years ago, some of these hard working operators looked around and realized that they were getting all kinds of wonderful training while the average patrol dog wasn't getting much training at all. Budgets were getting cut, time for training was hard to come by, and chances to keep up life-saving perishable skills were few and far between. I once heard that if you ever want someone to give to a good cause, find someone who is already giving, because people who are giving are more likely to give more than someone who doesn't currently give at all. In the world of Law Enforcement all officers give, but SWAT team members are among those who give more. They tend to be more dedicated, sacrifice more of their personal lives to training, and are more willing to put themselves in circumstances that could lead to the ultimate sacrifice. The Riverside Sheriff SWAT team made a decision – they were going to give more. These men banded together and started a non-profit organization where they chose to take some of their precious days off and train their non-SWAT partners in order to reduce the risk to both officers and the public during critical incidents. These heroes didn't just train their own either. RESTMA men have traveled from Santa Clarita all the way to Blythe, California, just to help ensure the safety of their fellow law enforcement family by keeping up training. They have offered training on rifle, shotgun, pistol, low light, and plain clothes tactics and shooting. RESTMA charged only what they had to for the facilities used during training, as low as $5. Today was different. They charged $20. Today was a little bit about training, because we all know that every time we unholster our guns we are training, but it was more about character. Character is the fortitude to do what is right, even after great wrong has been done. Instead of cursing and rampaging, these men chose to train their partners and bless the families of those who fell. And that is what good does – it restores. It shines brightly in dark places like Riverside and encourages life, even life after death. This is the third time the men of RESTMA banded together to fundraise for officers either lost or injured in the line of duty. The last time they ran a match, they raised enough money for Deputy Brandon Love's wife to stay at home with him an extra month before she went back to work. You see, Deputy Love came away from his brush with death without the use of his legs. Just imagine trying to move around your house, doing daily necessary tasks, without your legs. Then think how it would feel to have the job you worked so hard to earn, a job that makes you feel proud every morning, ripped from you because some thug attacked you without provocation. In the depths of that loss, Deputy Love was not abandoned nor unsupported. People he had never met surrounded him and gave of their time and resources to help him recover. That is what RESTMA is all about. That is what all of us should be about.

The RESTMA team comes together again to help the families of fallen officers raising over $7,000 with the help of the local law enforcement community. Photo courtesy Laurel Yoshimoto

This June, the Riverside Sheriff's Emergency Services Team will celebrate 35 years of existence. In the last 35 years, they protected and served those they were called on to help, and also those who were not their responsibility and obligation. This last match was attended by 77 men and women of law enforcement who could have been at the beach. The match was run by over 20 men who could have been watching the game on television. Everyone there could have been relaxing, but the men of RESTMA inspired us to move and shoot instead. RESTMA raised over $7,000.00 to help support the families of Michael Davis Jr. and Shaun Diamond. Riverside, California may be a dark place, but it is not without its light. – Laurel Yoshimoto Laurel is an average shooter who fell in love with the shooting sports. She resides happily with her loving husband and young son in Southern California and is proud to serve in Law Enforcement.