LAPD Bomb Expert Killed in Afghanistan

Los Angeles police officer Joshua Cullins had a knack for disarming the explosives and was being groomed to join his department's elite bomb squad.

But first the 28-year-old Marine reservist had tours of duty in the Iraq and Afghanistan, where he painstakingly disarmed roadside bombs, then collected the evidence and brought it back home to teach training classes for his LAPD colleagues. It was something he loved to do.

Two months ago he survived a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan and was left with a concussion. Back on the job, Cullins had only two days left in the field as an explosive ordnance disposal technician when he was killed during a bomb investigation.

"It was something he loved doing and was dedicated to his fellow Marines and the people in Afghanistan trying to make the country safe," said LAPD Capt. Daryl Russell, Cullins' supervisor. "I think he obviously knew he had a very dangerous job. Every day he got up and put his boots on, he knew the dangers. But he was such a dedicated professional; he did what he had to do."

Cullins was scheduled to be home by Christmas, Russell said. With three years on the force, he patrolled the area of the downtown Los Angeles and had two years to go before he could join the bomb squad.