Deputy Cordero's Riverside funeral drew massive attendance

A memorial service for fallen Deputy Isaiah Cordero followed a dramatic 2.5 mile procession through Riverside streets as Cordero's flag-draped coffin was transported from the mortuary to Harvest Christian Fellowship for the emotional service.

Supporters lining the procession route to the church showed reverence as they held crosses, waved flags and bowed their heads.

Hundreds of law enforcement personnel from throughout the county, California and a few other states were on hand to salute the fallen lawman as pallbearers carried the coffin into the church.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco remembered the motorcycle patrol deputy gunned down during a Dec. 29 traffic stop as a "warrior," who died fighting evil, and whose loss will not "be in vain," Bianco said. "We lost a deputy. The Cordero family lost a son, and the world lost a good man ... his sacrifice will not be in vain."

Cordero's mother, Rebecca Cordero, struggled to get through her eulogy. She remembered her 32-year-old son as a man with a precious, honest heart. "You never wanted the spotlight, angel baby," she said tearfully. "Your tributes are well deserved. They respect your service and sacrifice. Your life was one of selfless service. You knew what it took to earn that badge. You fought the good fight, my boy."

Several thousand people gathered inside and in an overflow seating area outside the church for the early afternoon memorial service.

Deputy Isaiah Albert Cordero was fatally shot about 1:45 p.m. on Dec. 29 in the 3900 block of Golden West Ave., in Jurupa Valley, his hometown. His was the first line-of-duty death involving a Riverside County sheriff's deputy in 15 years.

The gunman died two hours later in a freeway gunfight with deputies.

Cordero began his career as a correctional deputy, working the county jails from 2014 to 2017. He attended the sheriff's academy again in 2018 to serve as a patrol deputy and he was eventually accepted onto the motor unit, where he worked as a patrolman in Jurupa Valley from September to December 2022.

Sheriff Chad Bianco said the eight-year law enforcement veteran "embodied our motto, `Service Above Self."'

The sheriff said Cordero stopped 44-year-old William S. McKay of San Bernardino, a three-strike felon, for reasons still under investigation but likely related to irregularities with the black pickup he was driving.

According to the sheriff, McKay's criminal history included convictions for kidnapping, assault on a California Highway Patrol canine and armed robbery.

"This tragedy should have been (prevented) by the criminal justice system," Bianco said. "This suspect was on his third strike in 2021. But instead of receiving a sentence of 25 years to life in state prison, a judge lowered his bail. He failed to appear for sentencing ... and the same judge released him again. We would not be here today if this judge had done her job."

The felon led law enforcement on a roughly two-hour pursuit that started in San Bernardino and ended on southbound Interstate 15 in Norco, where his pickup crashed after going over a police spike strip.

Bianco alleged McKay fired at law enforcement officers as they surrounded him. They returned fire and killed him, the sheriff said.

A "Help A Hero" fundraiser for his loved ones topped $100,000 on Wednesday. The original goal was exactly that amount, prompting the page sponsor, the Riverside County Deputy Sheriff Relief Foundation, to establish a new goal of $200,000.

The fundraiser will expire in March. The page is at https://helpahero.com/campaign/deputy-isaiah-cordero.