Days after his death during a police pursuit, scores of local residents, along with law enforcement officers and firefighters from across Los Angeles County, gathered Tuesday evening outside the Alhambra Police Department to honor Officer Alec Sanders, whom colleagues remembered for his dedication to and passion for his job.
Sanders, 28, died Thursday in a crash that followed the pursuit of an allegedly stolen vehicle.
Recalling his officer fondly, Police Chief Garrett Kennedy said during the vigil Tuesday that Sanders, in his roughly eight months on the job, adjusted to the Alhambra Police Department with enthusiasm, routinely taking on overtime shifts and seeking opportunities to improve and earn community trust. During each shift, he was excited to wear his uniform and do the job, reminding others in the department of their passion for law enforcement, Kennedy said.
“Every shift, he walked through those doors with purpose, with drive, with pride to wear the badge,” Kennedy said. “He was the kind of officer who reminded us why we chose this path.”
Before attending the police academy and working at the Long Beach Police Department, Sanders worked in the entertainment industry, where he met his fiancé.
“Alec [showed up] with heart, with pride and with a sense of purpose that was felt by everyone who had the privilege of working alongside him,” said Assistant Chief Dany Fuentes. “In our line of work, we talk often about courage, sacrifice and service. Alec embodied those values effortlessly.”
He wore cowboy boots around the station, cheered for the Dallas Cowboys and dreamed of one day moving to Tennessee, his fellow officers said. Sanders was stoic and serious about the job, but he still made time to joke with his colleagues and was kind and sincere, his colleagues said.
“Even in eight months,” Kennedy said, “he became woven in the fabric of the department.”
Kennedy encouraged law enforcement officers to embody Sanders’ passion each day when they come to work..
Police were chasing a reportedly stolen Hyundai SUV around 3 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20, according to Alhambra police. The SUV, which was traveling north on Edgewood Drive, collided with Sanders’ police SUV at the intersection of Edgewood and Valley Boulevard.
The force of the crash pushed the Hyundai into a Wienerschnitzel parking lot and ejected 42-year-old Gabriela Moreno, who died at the scene.
Sanders died at Los Angeles General Medical Center.
Sanders was covering an overnight shift for another officer and working a patrol assignment when he died, said Kennedy. He worked for the department for eight months and previously served with the Long Beach Police Department from May through December 2023 after graduating from its police academy.
Sanders is survived by his fiancée, parents, brother and sister.
Another Hyundai passenger, a 52-year-old man, was hospitalized along with the driver, 27-year-old Steven Zapata of El Monte.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Zapata with two counts each of murder and fleeing a pursuing officer’s vehicle causing death and one count of reckless driving with injuries.
His vehicle was reported stolen out of West Covina, but how and where the chase began and how many officers were involved remained under investigation, said California Highway Patrol Sgt. Dan Keene.
Zapata was previously convicted of robbery, taking a motor vehicle without consent and firearm possession by a narcotic addict in 2021, court records show. He was sentenced in July 2021 to more than four years in state prison.
Hundreds of officers and firefighters from Los Angeles County agencies lined Marengo Street on Nov. 20 and saluted as a van brought Sanders’ body from the hospital to the medical examiner’s office.
“This is a tragic loss of a young public servant who had just recently begun his position with the Alhambra Police Department, but who had already distinguished himself as the kind of reliable police officer who endeared himself to his fellow officers and to his community,” said state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez in a statement.
“As the former Mayor of Alhambra, I know the deep loss this will leave in our close-knit city that stands together in times of loss and grief,” she continued. “I ask that we all remember and honor Officer Sanders whose dedication to our community will not be forgotten.”