Boy Grows Up To Follow In Slain Deputy Dad's Heroic Footsteps

LOS ANGELES, CA — Joseph Blair was six-years-old when his father, a Los Angeles Sheriff's deputy, was killed in the line of duty.

His father was only 31 when he was killed by a gang member during a pedestrian stop in Lynwood on May 12, 1995. It was a crippling loss for the family, and it changed Blair forever.

It motivated the little boy to follow in his father's heroic footsteps, and today he does just that, graduating from the department's training academy.

"His brutal and untimely death changed Joseph's life forever, but it created a drive in him to be more like the father he missed growing up," according to a sheriff's department statement, which will swear Blair in upon graduation.

In a post dated Feb. 25 on the Officer Down Memorial Page dedicated to his father, the younger Blair wrote, "Dad, it is great to finally follow in your footsteps in becoming a deputy sheriff."

"I think of you every day and I know you are watching over me. When times are tough I think of you to help me through those tough times. It brings great joy to my heart to hear that you are not forgotten and to hear how much of a difference you made in people's lives within the community as well as the department.

"I am going to do everything I can to make you proud. With the help from you and my fellow academy recruits, I know I can achieve the goal of deputy sheriff. I love and miss you Dad.

"You will never be forgotten."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.