A Los Angeles International Airport police officer, who felt ill on Wednesday after running in a 5K race to honor an officer killed while on duty, died late Thursday afternoon, Chief Patrick Gannon said.

Anthony Edwards had been taken to Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center on Wednesday, where doctors discovered a heart problem, Gannon said. He had just finished the run, which raised money for the Tommy E. Scott Scholarship Fund. Scott was killed in 2005 when a man jumped into his patrol car and took off with the officer clinging to the door. Scott was decapitated when he struck a fire hydrant.

"We were honoring one guy - Tommy Scott, who had given his life for this city - and then the irony of it was that an officer who was honoring Tommy passed away himself," Gannon said. "It's hard for everyone to get their arms around this. "

Gannon said Edwards was in his mid-40s. Another police source said Edwards had been with the airport police for 12 years.

Gannon, who joined the LAX department in November, said he did not know Edwards as well as others, but called him a strong officer.

"What I do know from everyone I have talked to is that he was a great guy, a good family man, just a real good police officer," Gannon said. "Everyone is really shaken up. He is going to be terribly missed."