Marine, LAPD officer killed in Afghanistan in 2010 to be honored in Winnetka

WINNETKA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Winnetka intersection is being renamed to honor a Marine and LAPD officer killed in 2010 by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in 2010.

Thursday, Quakertown Avenue and Gault Street will be renamed "Joshua Cullins Way."

Staff Sgt. Joshua Cullins was from Simi Valley and served in the Marine Corps for a decade before joining the Los Angeles Police Department.

In October 2010, while on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, the 28-year-old was killed by an improvised explosive device.

He had two days left in the field as an explosive ordinance disposal technician when he was killed while investigating a roadside bomb near Marja. A secondary explosion was set off as he investigated an earlier blast. Cullins, who was expected to be home for Christmas, planned to join the LAPD bomb squad

when he returned.

City Councilman Bob Blumenfield's office said Cullins was an active member of the Winnetka community with strong ties to St. Martin's School, which both his younger brothers attended. The intersection to be named after Cullins is adjacent to the school and was chosen because he regularly joined students in the classroom to talk about his service and the importance of giving back to the community, Blumenfield's office said.

Memorial services were held for Cullins in November 2010 at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.

City News Service contributed to this report.