Fallen Palm Springs Officer New Namesake For Police-Fire Softball Tourney

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA – The annual softball game between Palm Springs police officers and firefighters will be renamed after slain Palm Springs Officer Lesley Zerebny, who was shot and killed in the line of duty last year, it was announced Friday.

The inaugural Lesley Zerebny Memorial Softball game will be held on Oct. 15 at Big League Dreams Sports Park in Cathedral City.

Members of the Palm Springs Police Officer's and Professional Firefighter's associations will face off, with ticket proceeds going to the Palm Springs Police Officer's Memorial Fund. Tickets will be $5, according to the police officer's association.

Zerebny, 27, was killed along with veteran training Officer Jose Gilbert Vega, 63, last Oct. 8.

John Hernandez Felix, 27, is accused of opening fire on the officers after they responded to a family disturbance call at his home in the 2700 block of Cypress Avenue.

Vega had been with the department for 35 years -- five years past his retirement eligibility -- and had planned to finish his career last December. Zerebny had been with the department for a year and a half and had just returned to duty from maternity leave after the birth of a daughter four months before her death.

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--City News Service/Image via PSPD