The annual peace officer’s memorial to pay tribute to those who have fallen in the line of duty in Stanislaus County will be held Wednesday morning at Lakewood Memorial Park, with an unveiling of the two new names added to the memorial headstone.

The Stanislaus County Peace Officer Association’s memorial tribute to the fallen law enforcement in the county will include a helicopter fly-over, a motorcade and equestrian procession of law enforcement from around the county, and an address from Stanislaus County Sheriff Jeff Dirkse. The ceremony will begin at 9:45 a.m. The ceremony is open to the public.

This marks the third year that the ceremony will pay tribute to local law enforcement who lost their lives in the year prior. In November 2018, Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Antonio “Tony” Hinostroza, 45, died in a vehicle collision while responding to a call in Riverbank. In December 2018, Newman Police Cpl. Ronil Singh, 33, was fatally shot during a traffic stop for a suspected driving under the influence.

Hinostroza’s path towards law enforcement began when he was 16 years old and he joined the Explorer program at the Ceres Police Department. Two years later, in 1992 he graduated from high school and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served four years in active duty and four years as a reserve. At the end of his military service, Hinostroza decided to pursue a career in law enforcement. He began working as a reserve police officer and an emergency dispatcher for the City of Waterford, and in 1999 he was hired as a deputy with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. During his 19-year career with the sheriff’s department, Deputy Hinostroza served as a patrol deputy, K9 handler, gang detective, SWAT team member, and field training officer.

Singh was born in Fiji and came to the United States to pursue his dream of becoming a police officer. Singh started his law enforcement career as a volunteer with the Modesto Police Department and then served as a cadet and animal service officer with the Turlock Police Department. He worked in Turlock from 2006 to 2010 and then joined the Merced County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy in 2010. He graduated Modesto Junior College in 2009 with a degree in criminal justice. Singh joined the Newman Police Department in 2011.

Since 1935, 18 law enforcement officers have lost their lives while serving Stanislaus County.

Because of roadwork on the bridge on Santa Fe Road, the only entrance into the ceremony is off of Hatch Road.

National Police Week is May 13 to May 19. It began in 1962 when President John Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls, as National Police Week. National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. The week includes several ceremonial tributes in Washington D.C.