Slain Dallas Officer Had Worked For LA Sheriff's Department

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — One of the five officers killed Thursday in an ambush in Dallas worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department earlier in his law-enforcement career, the LASD said Friday.

Lorne Ahrens, a 14-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department, was a law-enforcement technician in Los Angeles from 1991-2002.

His father William Ahrens, who lives in Alaska, spoke with CBS Los Angeles via Skype about how his son died doing what he loved.

"It really hasn't hit yet," Ahrens said. "The magnitude of it hasn't hit yet."

Lorne Ahrens grew up in Canoga Park. He moved to Dallas to become a police officer, a dream come true. But his true love was his family.

"The pinnacle of his life was his children. He adored his children," his father said. "He was a big strong guy ... rough and tough, amateur boxer. He would get into fisticuffs; he was fearless. But that same guy would have tea with his daughter."

"Lorne was a big guy with an even bigger heart," Sheriff's Department Capt. Merrill Ladenheim said Friday.

"He will be sorely missed by the LASD family, said Sgt. Bob Boese in a Sheriff's Department news release. "Our thoughts and our prayers go out to Lorne's family and all the men and women of the Dallas Police Department, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police and the great state of Texas."