La Mesa Police added Officer Lauren Craven’s name to the department’s black granite monument this week, the first time the agency has memorialized an officer lost in the line of duty, according to Times of San Diego.

The monument outside La Mesa Police Department headquarters had one blank side since it was installed in 2010. It now bears Craven’s name and her death date, Oct. 20, 2025, following an unveiling ceremony Thursday attended by hundreds of law enforcement members, city officials, community members and Craven’s family.

Services Capt. Greg Runge said the moment weighed heavily on the department, while Capt. Katy Lynch said officers had long hoped they would never need to add a name to that side of the monument. Chief Ray Sweeney remembered Craven for her empathy, professionalism and bravery.

Times of San Diego reported Craven was killed while responding to an unrelated crash on Interstate 8. A 19-year-old La Mesa resident, De’Veonte Morris, also died in the collision, and the defendant in the case has pleaded not guilty to murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Craven has also been honored by the county and state, and her name is expected to be read next week during a ceremony at the National Peace Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. For East County residents, the monument makes a local loss permanent in the heart of La Mesa’s civic center.