By Daniel Alvarez, Correctional Counselor 2
The 10th Annual Imperial Valley Law Enforcement Relay Run, held May 18, drew current and retired law enforcement, military, and firemen together to honor those comrades who have fallen.
Members from Ironwood State Prison (ISP) participated for the first time and honored Correctional Sergeant Armando “Mando” Mora. Runners from other prisons were featured in this earlier story (link opens new tab).
Sergeant Mora began his career with the department on July 8, 2002, at the Richard A. McGee Correctional Training Center.
He served as a Correctional Officer at Ironwood State Prison starting Oct. 26, 2002, and later promoted to Correctional Sergeant at Ironwood on Jan. 15, 2015. He was also a member of the Ironwood/Chuckawalla Crisis Response Team (CRT).
Sergeant Mora passed away on May 8, 2015. His dedication to duty, country and family shall never be forgotten.
Ironwood prison staff runners were supported by two chase vehicles driven by Crisis Response Team Commander Sergeant A. Cisneros and longtime team member Sergeant D. McCray.
The vehicles were stocked with water, an alternate runner and Sergeant McCray’s words of motivation blaring from a bull-horn. In addition to the 10 runners, the family members were also provided an opportunity to run a portion of the last mile. In honoring the memory of Sergeant Mora, the family members carried the baton to the finish line.
The Ironwood team ranked third among 15 teams and completed the 24-mile relay race in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 53 seconds. The Border Patrol Special Operations Division took 1st place with a time of 2:49:48 and 2nd place honors were taken by the Calipatria/Centinela CRT with a time of 2:55:58.
