BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Friday night, hundreds of people held flameless candles illuminating the Kern County Sheriff Office (KCSO) headquarters in remembrance of the late, deputy Phillip Campas.
“We want to honor his memory and show support to his blue family and blood family who are mourning his loss,” said Patrick Champion president of the Thin Line Foundation
The Kern County First responders and the Thin Line Foundation held a vigil in Campas’ memory.
“We feel it’s a very important thing for law enforcement to know that the community is behind them and that we do care about them and we wanted to be able to bring people out here to show them that,” said Champion
The community showed up for a memorial parade for deputy Campas starting at Chuy’s in Northwest Bakersfield then to the vigil at KCSO in Oildale.
"And it is because of the human being who is caring, who is kind, who loved others that our community has shown this outpouring of support," said Mayor Karen Goh.
Lisa Kendrick Bakersfield Giving back to the Badge organized the parade Friday night leading up to the vigil. She’s also behind the Phillip Campas billboard going up on Mohawk and Rosedale Highway on Saturday. For her, Campas’ passing hits close to home.
“My father was a sheriff and he passed away. So all of the steps that have come along have brought up a lot of memories, and knowing that he was the same age as my father when he passed and had a young family, I just wanted to make sure they were going to be taken care of,” said Kendrick
