Friends and fellow officers of L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Amber Leist met tonight in Valley Village for a candlelight vigil to celebrate her life.
Leist, 41, died on Sunday in Valley Village when she was struck by a car while trying to help a woman who had fallen in an intersection get to safety.
Leist, a 12-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, had served as a detective at the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station. She is survived by her father and mother, Daniel and Ellen Leist, and by her two sons, 17 and 20.
Leist was returning to her vehicle when she was struck. She was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The video above was posted online by Deputy Joanna Warren. “As many of you heard we lost an amazing Deputy last Sunday,” Warren wrote. “Deputy Tracy Koerner & I were lucky to have met and worked with Deputy Amber Leist… When a Deputy is killed, it’s not just her partners and Department that lose someone, but the entire community. THANK YOU!!
“This is Amber Leist. From her classmates of #LASD Class #362, to her custody partners at NCCF, patrol at Lancaster Sheriff’s Station and more recently part of West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station Detective Bureau, Amber touched everyone with her positive & uplifting personality. We may not be able to see you, but we know you’ll always be there.”
She was a hero and great member of our community. May her memory be a blessing.
Really sad to lose someone this way. Peace to the family. Remember the joy that she brought to friends, coworkers and loved ones. Makes us all appreciate our lives even more in a world where we all complain and fight too much. Let’s connect with others more and value each other.