Officers remembered at Golden West

Deepa Bharath and Paul Clinton

COSTA MESA -- Two Costa Mesa police officers who died in the line of

duty were among 15 graduates of Golden West College’s Police Academy to

be honored Friday.

Dave Ketchum and Mike Libolt, the only Costa Mesa police officers ever

to die on duty, were killed March 10, 1987, in a helicopter crash while

chasing a stolen vehicle. Both officers were Costa Mesa residents and

Vietnam veterans.

Ketchum left behind his wife, Meg, and two daughters. Libolt was

engaged at the time of his death and also had two children.

On Friday, police officers from Orange to Riverside to Los Angeles

counties headed to Golden West College in Huntington Beach to honor their

own in a rousing, yet somber, full-dress military-style ceremony.

David Barr, the director of the college’s Criminal Justice Training

Center, said the memorial service reminds officers about the dangers of

police work.

As a part of the 30-minute ceremony, which included a Scottish

bagpiper playing “Amazing Grace,” Barr unveiled a permanent plaque at the

college with each officer’s name.

“What it does is it’s a constant reminder to our students,” Barr said.

“They don’t want to be the next name up there.”

Costa Mesa Police Capt. Jim Watson said the department was

“devastated” by the death of the officers.

“What sticks in my mind the most about the two of them is how much

they enjoyed life,” he said.

Ketchum was an outdoors enthusiast -- an avid fisherman, backpacker

and archer. Libolt was popular among colleagues for his sparkling wit,

sense of humor and practical jokes. In his spare time, Libolt modeled

clothes.

The officers were killed when their helicopter clipped another

helicopter being flown by two Newport Beach officers. Both were

responding to a pursuit near MacArthur Boulevard and Bonita Canyon Road.

The Newport Beach officers escaped without any injuries.

Since it opened in 1969, the Golden West College Police Academy has

seen more than 3,900 cadets graduate through its ranks. The ceremony was

appropriately set in May, which is Peace Officer Memorial Month.