Papers locally, regionally and nationally have covered Randy’s death. His contribution to society cannot help but be mentioned. His contributions in fact, in a way, over shadows the tragedy itself.
RPV officer killed in shooting was a coach to many
By Larry Altman, Staff Writer Daily Breeze
Brandon Robinson is grateful he met Los Angeles police Officer Randal Simmons.
About five years ago, the teen’s problems with his stepfather turned to rage at home and at school, where he talked back to his teachers and got himself into trouble.
Simmons signed on as a coach with the El Segundo Youth Football League and Cheer program. Robinson, an 11-year-old already on the team, found his life taking a turn for the better.
“He was a very good friend to me,” said Robinson, now 16 and living in Charlotte, N.C. “He was always there whenever I was down, mad or sad. He would talk to me about everything.”
Some 60 teenage boys passed through the El Segundo league during Simmons’ tenure as a coach. They learned Thursday that Simmons’ life ended in a gunbattle in the San Fernando Valley.
Simmons, 51, of Rancho Palos Verdes, became the first Los Angeles police SWAT officer killed in the line of duty.
The league was based in El Segundo, but children who were 11 to 14 years old under Simmons’ tutelage now attend high schools spread across the South Bay and - in Robinson’s case - across the country.
“Some kids from the team had to be pulled out of class,” said Tim O’Keefe, a fellow coach whose son, Danny, played for the youth Eagles. “Kids at El Segundo, St. Bernard. Kids at Mira Costa, Bishop Montgomery, where Randy’s kid goes. Serra.
“It’s all over the place. You are hearing kids are just grief-stricken.”
Chris Parr, a coach with the team, met Simmons and his son, Matthew, about five years ago at a football camp at USC. He recruited Matthew, and Simmons, a Washington State University halfback in the 1970s, soon joined the coaching ranks.
Simmons learned Parr and coach Dean Pliaconis were picking up disadvantaged boys from South-Central Los Angeles and bringing them to the El Segundo league.
Simmons, Parr said, wanted to be a part of that.
His son played, his daughter, Gaby, joined the cheerleading program, and Simmons coached.
But the ordained minister brought much more than football knowledge to the team.
“Randy brought a lot of positivity, a lot of caring and giving from a football standpoint as well as a spiritual standpoint,” Parr said. “He would talk to us, especially the kids, about experiences he had in dealing with kids who weren’t following the path to righteousness.”
Simmons became the team’s mentor. His credo: Honesty and hard work pay off.
“He was a very good coach, and he always talked about honesty,” said Brandon Jimenez, a 15-year-old El Segundo High School student. “Football isn’t just about football. It’s a life lesson.”
Jimenez said Simmons taught the players to work hard, not only on the football field, but in school.
“He was just an all-around role model for most of the team,” Jimenez said. “Everybody enjoyed being in his presence. He knew when to be serious and when to crack jokes. I think of him as a mentor, that’s for sure.”
Jimenez recalled that when, after a 33-0 loss in the playoffs last year, Simmons counseled his depressed players. “It was our last year playing with each other. He was telling us it’s not just about football; it’s about having fun. It continues into the world.”
Jimenez said teenagers have spent the past couple of days chatting with each other in instant messages over the Internet, remembering their coach.
“Some of the kids lived in bad areas,” Jimenez said. “He always told them not to get into the gangs.”
The SWAT officer spent his weekends with his Carson church, ministering in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Compton and other communities.
As a football coach, he took several boys to church. Robinson, an Inglewood teen, was among the ones who accompanied Simmons every Sunday to the Glory Christian Fellowship Church in Carson.
“I was having a few problems with my stepfather. We would get into it a couple of times,” Robinson said. “All (Simmons) does is tell me I can’t always put my rage into one moment and take it out on everybody. I have to have time to forgive everybody, even the people that did me wrong.
“He said I can’t forget, but I also can forgive people for what happened.”
Robinson said his mood changed, along with his grades and outlook.
“He was a very smart man,” the teen said.
Beyond counseling teens, Simmons influenced his fellow coaches and players’ parents. El Segundo Youth Football League coach Pliaconis said his phone rang repeatedly with calls Thursday and Friday from team moms and parents in disbelief.
“He was our rock. He was our spirit. He was our glue,” Pliaconis said. “It was more important to love one another; that was the secret to success. We’ve continued with that theme of his.”
Danny O’Keefe, a 15-year-old now playing football at Loyola High School of Los Angeles, called Simmons his favorite coach.
“He didn’t care about himself,” Danny O’Keefe said. “He put everybody in front of him.”
Although he stopped coaching when his son moved on to high school, Simmons continued to follow his daughter’s cheerleading team, which is competing in Las Vegas this weekend.
“Every game he told the girls to get out there and do your best,” coach Nicole Martin said. “He came to see Gaby all the time. Tuesday evening, he poked his head in - `Come on girls. You can do it!’ We were working on a new stunt.”
Coaches said former El Segundo players are planning to attend Simmons’ funeral, possibly sitting in a section together.
“We have kids from the inner city to Manhattan Beach and El Segundo. Everyone loved him,” Tim O’Keefe said. “He touched the kids, but we as coaches were left all the much better also.”
larry.altman@dailybreeze.com
