On December 27, 1985, at approximately 10:05 p.m., Officer David Irwin was on duty, riding his departmental motorcycle westbound on Manchester Avenue and nearing the intersection of Broadway in the South Los Angeles area.

Officer Irwin was forced into a hard-braking sequence that resulted in him losing control of his motorcycle. He slid into the intersection, where he was struck by a northbound vehicle. The impact ejected Officer Irwin onto the pavement, where his motorcycle landed on top of him. These events caused him to sustain a deep brain bruise, skull fracture and three crushed vertebrae in his neck. He was paralyzed from the chest down and disability retired.

On September 18, 2000, Irwin was found deceased in his home. The forensic pathologist determined the cause of death as a complication of Officer Irwin’s paraplegia, due to the blunt force trauma he sustained in 1985.