Death of Rookie Weighs on Grads : Police: The slaying of Officer Tina Kerbrat reminds the academy’s Class of September, 1990, that the time for caution follows graduation.

It was graduation day and the Los Angeles Police Department Concert Band heralded the occasion with everything from “The Star-Spangled Banner” to the theme from “The Magnificent Seven.”

But as the Police Academy gave birth to 60 new officers, the death of one who graduated only four months before could not be forgotten.

Her name was Tina Kerbrat, a young mother who less than two weeks ago became the first female Los Angeles police officer killed in the line of duty. And her memory colored the sunny, outdoor ceremony.

Officer Bill C. Blount, a 27-year-old graduate, said that in the midst of his happiness he thought of her--sometime between the uniform inspection and the beginning of the ceremonies.

Marie Amador said Kerbrat crossed her mind as she waited for her husband, Richard, to walk across the athletic field and into a profession where he will be expected to lay his life on the line every day for strangers.

And Officer Richard Laguna, who guided Kerbrat through the academy and saw her only a week before she was killed, said thoughts of his former student brought a sense of sadness to an otherwise happy day.

“I feel good because I graduated 60,” said Laguna, smiling and shaking the hands of the graduates. “But in all honesty, I can’t help but think the last time I sat here, I sat here with Tina.”

Kerbrat, whose class graduated last October, was still on probation when she and her partner stopped their black and white cruiser on a Sun Valley street the morning of Feb. 11. She had just opened her door to question two men drinking beer when one of them opened fire on her with a .357 magnum revolver. Kerbrat was one of five officers shot within a span of eight violent days this month.

“It was a jolt into reality,” said Marie Amador, one of nearly 400 people gathered to see their loved ones graduate. “It could happen. But if it does, I’ll have to deal with it when it comes. I can’t sit and worry about it. If I do, I’ll go crazy.”

Her husband’s graduating class had attended Kerbrat’s funeral together, their drill instructor, Laguna, acting as one of the pallbearers. On Friday, the recruits, known as the Class of September, 1990, for the month they joined the academy, sat on its athletic field and were reminded once again of their purpose.

“We have a war going on in the Mideast . . . but there’s a war that’s been going on here for a long time,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates. “And it came home to us when we had five casualties, one who paid the ultimate price.

“What we have here are not just the warriors,” Gates said. “They are the peacemakers. They are peace officers. . . . In some parts of the city they never wanted to see a black and white police car. Now they want you--they need you.”

Blount, who graduated at the top of his class, said it was the character of Los Angeles police officers--”The way they wore their uniform, their ability to be in control of a situation”--that made him want to join. His enthusiasm was not dampened by the recent spate of shootings, he said, although he did reflect on Kerbrat’s death.

“I feel saddened, I feel angered,” said Blount, adding that the shootings have made him more determined to be careful in the field. “I just thought of what a tragedy it was for her to die because she chose this career to help people.”

Blount’s classmate, Phillip Evans, 24, said he too was sorry for what happened to Kerbrat but that he could not let sadness or anger keep him from doing what he decided he wanted to do three years ago.

Evans, joined at the ceremony by a crowd of friends and relatives, said, “You must look on.”

The graduation ceremony ended with a prayer. “May the God of mercy watch over us, protecting us and guiding us in all that we do,” said the Rev. Jill Robertson.

And the crowd said, “Amen.”