A Riverside County Sheriff’s Department deputy who was killed in the line of duty last week was honored at the Rose Parade on Monday.
During the annual event, a riderless horse led the agency’s Mounted Enforcement Detail in honor of Deputy Isaiah Cordero.
“It creates a moment of pause when you see that horse and no one on it,” parade co-host Mark Steines said during the broadcast.
Cordero, who was a 32-year-old motorcycle deputy, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Jurupa Valley on Dec. 29.
The suspect, 44-year-old William Shae McKay, was also killed after a chase and shootout with law enforcement officers on the 15 Freeway in Norco.
Cordero was remembered for his lighthearted personality and his dedication to the job.
He was hired as a correctional deputy in May 2014 and was promoted to a sworn deputy sheriff in 2018. He was transferred to his current assignment at the Jurupa Valley Sheriff’s Station in 2020.
Sheriff Chad Bianco, who rode on a horse during the detail’s first Rose Parade on Monday, had previously said that he was “heartbroken” by the loss of Cordero.
The fallen deputy’s goal was to become a motor deputy and had achieved it just months before he was killed, Bianco said.
Cordero is survived by his girlfriend, older step brother and his parents.