Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Isaiah Cordero, who was shot and killed while on duty last month, was laid to rest Friday.
Funeral services were held at Harvest Christian Fellowship Church in the 6100 block of Arlington Avenue.
Deputy Cordero’s mother was the first to speak following an emotional slideshow featuring pictures of the 32-year-old deputy’s life.
“We do not know how we are supposed to carry on without you … My boy, the people are broken. They too admired your service and respect your sacrifice,” Rebecca Cordero said through tears.
She described her son’s death as a failure of the legal system.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco characterized Cordero as a great and special man, and talked about the dangers of being a deputy.
“When we experience the death of family and friends, the most common question is usually ‘why?’” Bianco said. “In this case however … we know exactly why he was killed. Deputy Cordero was killed because of two simple reasons: the first is because of his chosen profession, he is a deputy sheriff. The second is because there is pure evil in this world.”
A procession through the streets of Riverside took place at around 10 a.m., prior to the funeral.
The procession traveled from Acheson and Graham Mortuary and ended at the funeral site.
The public was invited to line the streets in support of Deputy Cordero, and many people were seen saluting, waving and crying, Bianco said.
Aerial video from Sky5 showed a long line of patrol vehicles following a white hearse containing Cordero’s casket.
The procession arrived at the church shortly after 10:30 a.m. and Cordero was taken inside with his casket covered with an American flag.
The public was not allowed inside for services but it was live-streamed. Internment services for Deputy Cordero were private.
Deputy Cordero was killed in the line of duty on Thursday, Dec. 29.
He began his service with the Sheriff’s Department as a correctional deputy in 2014 and worked assignments at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility and the Indio Jail.
Cordero was promoted to deputy sheriff in 2018 and worked at the Robert Presley Detention Center and the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility before being transferred to the Jurupa Valley Sheriff’s Station.
He completed Motor School in September of 2022 and was working in traffic enforcement as a motorcycle deputy at the time of his death.
“On behalf of the entire Department, we extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Deputy Isaiah Cordero,” the Sheriff’s Department stated.