Bakersfield Police Officer Floyd B.D.W. Cummings died January 7, 1952 during surgery for injuries sustained after a fall while on foot patrol. He was an 8 year veteran.

Dep. Ross Cochran was killed in an automobile accident while on duty Nov. 19, 1951, while traveling northbound on Highway 99, enroute to investigate a burglary at Tagus Ranch. He struck the right side of a southbound vehicle which had crossed into the northbound lane. The accident occurred approximately 2 ½ miles north of Tulare. Dep. Cochran died while enroute to the hospital.

The occupants of the other vehicle were two Bakersfield, California brothers who had been traveling on he wrong side of the “then” two lane highway.

Deputy Ross Cochran had been a law enforcement officer for over twenty years, having been a cattle inspector, a Tulare Police officer, and acting Tulare Police Chief then a Deputy Sheriff with Tulare County. He had been with the Sheriff’s Department for approximately two months before his demise at the age of 63.

Deputy Ross Cochran born June 2, 1888 and died November 19, 1951.

On November 18, 1951, at 7:35 a.m., at 28th and San Pablo, the early morning peace was disturbed by a loud argument between an estranged husband and wife. As the man proceeded to walk away from the woman, she got into her car and drove after him. Pursuing him down the street, she jumped the curb and struck him from behind with the car. He sustained moderate injuries. Many residents of the neighborhood witnessed these events and called the police.

Officer Eugene M. Oneto was dispatched to the scene. As he drove west on MacArthur Boulevard, his red light activated and his siren blaring, he entered the Market Street intersection, and his vehicle was broadsided by a car traveling south on Market Street. Oneto’s vehicle skidded out of control and hit another object. Thrown from his vehicle, he landed with considerable force on the pavement, and died a short time later at Merritt Hospital.

Oneto had been a member of Oakland Police Department for two years at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife, three children, a brother (Officer Louis Oneto), and his mother.

On July 27, 1951, Carl Oscar Johnson, Special Deputy Sheriff for Tulare County and a prominent California Hot Springs cattle rancher, was shot by a felony suspect whom he was trying to arrest. The suspect, John Vallier, was believed to have stolen a car belonging to a man in Felton and was hiding in a vacant CA Hot Springs cabin on Carver Ranch.

Johnson and four residents of the CA Hot Springs area drove to the cabin to arrest Vallier. When they got there, Vallier shot Johnson in the shoulder with a .22 caliber rifle, and citizen Oscar Cline responded by wounding Vallier in the arm with the same type rifle. Johnson and the suspect were rushed to the Porterville Hospital and treated by Dr. George Rey, Jr.

The suspect recovered and was released to face felony charges of assault. He was found to be insane in a Superior Court hearing and was transferred to a mental institution. Unfortunately, Johnson’s condition was determined to be critical and his fight for life began. He continued to suffer because the bullet was lodged in a severad artery and nerves in his arm were damaged. On Sept. 17, 1951, he was moved from the Porterville Hospital to one in San Francisco to receive treatment for the injured nerve, which was resulting in paralysis of his arm. Johnson underwent surgery on Sept. 29, and died the next day.

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Johnson had resided in the Porterville area since 1929. Although Johnson had only been a sworn officer for the Sheriff’s Department since May 29, 1951, he was a well-respected rancher in the mountain area as well as a member of Porterville Lodge 303 and of Al Malkai Temple of the Shrine in Fresno. He left behind his wife, Katherine Johnson, two step sons, a brother and a sister.

Officer Marvin Siebert was riding his police motorcycle westbound on San Leandro Street on September 19, 1951. As he entered the intersection of 73rd Avenue, a vehicle pulled in front of his motorcycle, causing a head-on collision. Thrown over the hood of the vehicle, Siebert landed on the pavement headfirst.

Siebert remained in a semi-conscious state at the scene and during the trip to the hospital, where he died of his injuries shortly after arrival.

Siebert joined the Oakland Police Department in October 1947. He was unmarried and was survived by his mother and a sister. The driver of the vehicle was arrested for manslaughter and violation of the right-of-way.