A solemn procession with honors escorted fallen California Highway Patrol Sergeant Steve Licon to a Riverside church where family, friends and hundreds of law enforcement officers gathered to say goodbye.
“California highway patrol was not just a job for Steve it was a true calling, he served the citizens of this great state honorably for the past 28 years,” said CHP Chief Bill Dance.
Licon’s daughter Marissa spoke about the kind of man he was outside of work, “My dad loved god, family, friends, motorcycles and John Wayne. When I would come home he would hug me so tight it hurt, my dad every night would hug my mom and I both and day a prayer with us.”
Marissa also spoke about getting the call her father was struck by a suspected drunk driver while doing a traffic stop on the 15 Freeway in Lake Elsinore, “To me my dad was invincible, so on April 6th when I got the call that my dad had been in an accident, never did I imagine that my dad would not be here to see me graduate college or walk me down the aisle, dad, I will miss you forever.”
Licon had a passion for getting drunk drivers off the road. His brother Daniel Licon says this was because his father once struggled with alcoholism.
Daniel said his own father would not have been spared if caught by Licon, “‘I‘d hook him up on the spot,’ his reasoning, ‘how would I feel if I didn’t do my job if and somebody else was hurt by my own dad drunk?'”
Licon suffered the loss of his 12-year-old son Nathan who was disabled in 2012.
CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley was among several people who spoke about the love Licon had for his Nathan, “I know both Steven and Nathan are together right now watching over the family and Riverside squad to give them the strength that they need.”
His wife Ann’s tearful goodbye was a tribute to the faith and love they shared, “I will miss you so very much, you will always be in my heart, until I see you again, know I will love you forever.”
