Maj. Rickardo Crocker

(reprinted from DailyBreeze.com, May 28,  2005)

Torrance Marine 'believed in service to his country'

Santa Monica police officer was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was killed.

A Marine from Torrance serving his second tour of duty in Iraq was killed in a counterinsurgency operation when he was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, authorities said Friday.

Ricardo A. Crocker, 39, known as "Rick" to his colleagues at the Santa Monica Police Department, where he served as an officer, died Wednesday at 6:45 a.m. PDT during the fighting in Haditha in the Al-Anbar province northwest of Baghdad.

"He was a very exceptional person and police officer," Santa Monica police Chief James T. Butts Jr. said. "Rick was a military man and he had enlisted in the Marines voluntarily long before he came on this police department. He was proud to be a Marine. He infinitely believed in service to his country."

Crocker, who was single, was identified by his dog tags and his name badge on his uniform.

A captain in the Marine Corps when he was hired at Santa Monica on July 21, 1995, Crocker had been promoted to the rank of major.

"When Rick came for his interview in January of 1995, his enlistment did not expire until July of 1995," Butts said. "After interviewing him, I did something I have never done, that was hold a police position open for him. We didn't want to lose such an exceptional candidate."

Crocker served as a patrol officer, a field training officer, special weapons team member and, before he was sent to Iraq, worked as a leader of the Police Activities League, a program for the city's youths.

Butts said Crocker easily would have risen through the ranks of his department.

"There was nothing that Rick ever did 50 percent," Butts said. "That includes his service to his country, his service to this city and his service to this department. He was the kind of officer whose humor and dedication to duty was infectious."

Crocker started working with the Police Activities League in 2003, supervising field trips, including forays to the Marine base at Camp Pendleton and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. He also taught cardiopulmonary resuscitation classes and a preparatory class for the Scholastic Aptitude Test, and wrote a grant to start a hiking class.

"He was a really happy, jovial guy," said PAL program supervisor Karen Humphrey. "He had a lot to bring to the program. He really loved the kids."

Humphrey said she last received an e-mail from Crocker on Monday. The note included a photograph of him and another soldier holding a California state flag. The last time she saw him was a few months ago when he returned from his first tour in Iraq.

"He was so gung-ho about the military," Humphrey said. "His other passion was education."

Crocker, one of three Santa Monica officers sent to Iraq, served a 15-month tour. Upon his return, he was called back for another tour.

During his brief return to the police force, he spoke about the hardships the troops endured.

"He talked about the uncomfortable conditions. He talked about the missions and he talked about the difficulties in sorting out the combatants from friendlies."

Crocker's family, reached at his Torrance home, declined to immediately talk to reporters. A sister, Maria, notified Butts of the death on Friday.

Crocker is survived by his mother, Jeanette; his father, Curtis; two sisters, Marisa and Maria; and a brother, Carlos. A sister, Linda, died 11 years ago.

Services have not been finalized. Butts said that although Crocker's parents live in the South Bay, he could be interred at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

The Marine's remains will be returned within five to seven days to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Crocker left behind a sealed envelope containing instructions for the type and location of the services he wanted. Family members planned to open that in the presence of Marine personnel, Butts said.

Crocker became the sixth South Bay resident killed in action in Iraq.

Staff writer Doug Irving contributed to this article.