Installation to honor RBPD’s Amador Espinosa
A monument to a 56-year Redondo Beach Police Department employee and volunteer will be dedicated Friday, Nov. 5, at 4 p.m. in front of City Hall.
The late Amador Espinosa worked as an administrative secretary for eight different police chiefs.
He graduated from Redondo Union High School in 1942, after which he flew 25 bombing missions during World War II as an Army Air Corps B-24 radio operator and gunner.
He previously received a Lifetime Community Service award from the city.
Following the war, after returning to his work at movie theaters, including the Fox Redondo, Espinosa was invited by a local police captain friend to apply to work in law enforcement.
Espinosa did not get hired as an officer, presumably because of prejudice against Hispanics. Instead, he was hired as a clerk-stenographer and became secretary to the chief of police.
He retired from the RBPD in 1993, after 37 years. He then volunteered for another 19 years, processing checks for business alarm permits.
The monument was a project of the 2019 class of Leadership Redondo.
“(His story) is something that deserved to be elevated so people knew about it,” said Jim Stickler, Leadership Redondo co-project leader with Bonnie Bailer.
Leadership Redondo brings together community members who select a project and work on it for 18 months. For more about the program, visit RedondoChamber.org. ER