On the afternoon of January 18, 1959, Deputy Charles E. Brown Jr. was enroute to the Union School area of Oroville to deliver a death message when his patrol car was involved in a collision with a pick up truck.  Deputy Brown was transported to Oroville Community Hospital with severe head trauma and internal injuries.  Tragically, the 27-year-old deputy did not survive.

Deputy Brown was born in Honolulu and resided in Palermo for the 16 years prior to his death.  He was a graduate of Oroville Union High School and served with the US Marine Corps in the Korean War.  He joined the Sheriff’s Department in 1956 and had recently been promoted to investigator.  Deputy Brown left behind his wife Minnie, two daughters, and a son.