Trump and Pence meet with children of fallen Fresno County sheriff’s sergeant

The children of Sgt. Rod Lucas, a Fresno County sheriff’s deputy who died in the line of duty last year, met President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in a ceremony Monday at the U.S. Capitol.

Lucas’ children, Gianna and Elijah, met the president and vice president during a ceremony for National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day, honoring 118 officers who died in the line of duty last year. In one photograph, Trump held Lucas’ sheriff’s identification card.

The name of Rod Lucas is now engraved in the granite wall of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

Deputy Frankie Barba and Sheriff Margaret Mims escorted Lucas’ widow, Jami, at the ceremony, which was also attended by his children, parents, colleagues and friends.

Lucas, a 20-year veteran of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department, died Oct. 31 after he was accidentally shot in the chest by one of his colleagues at a department substation in Fresno.

Investigators said that Lucas was having a conversation with a nine-year veteran detective about the various ways to carry backup weapons when the shot was fired.

Colleagues in the room at the time of the shooting said there was no dispute of any kind, just a conversation about gun safety, Mims said following the incident.

Lucas was remembered May 4 at the Fresno County Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony in downtown Fresno.

This story was originally published May 15, 2017 at 12:25 PM with the headline "Trump and Pence meet with children of fallen Fresno County sheriff’s sergeant."