SWAT Officer Sergio Carrera

Rialto Police Department

On Thursday, October 18, 2007, Rialto police officer Sergio Carrera Jr., while serving a narcotics search warrant, was shot in the upper body during a struggle with a man inside an apartment. He was rushed to a hospital, but died from his wounds during surgery.

Officer Carrera, 29, a four-year veteran of the force and a member of the SWAT team, was shot in the chest while he and other officers struggled with a man inside one of the targeted homes. Carrera was airlifted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where he died. He was married, with a 2-year-old son and a year-old daughter.

The incident began about 7 a.m. when neighbors reported smoke, explosions and shouting. SWAT teams from the Colton and Rialto police departments, along with a few agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raided four homes on West Cascade Drive simultaneously.

Police gathered outside department headquarters to comfort one another Thursday. Flags were lowered to half-staff. A number of squad cars, lights flashing, escorted Carrera’s body from the hospital to the coroner’s office.

“He was a great officer, very well liked, very well respected. It will be extremely difficult for all of us to get over this,” Captain Paul Martinez said. “Members of our department are in shock.”

Officer Carrera will be sorely missed, but never forgotten.