Officer Norman A. Kessler was pursuing a traffic violator when his motorcycle developed a high speed wobble after striking a rough spot in the highway pavement. Kessler lost control and skidded 200 feet before crashing. The 36-year-old patrol officer was killed almost instantly. Kessler had served in Tulare County since graduating from the CHP Academy in 1942.
Archives: Fallen Officers
Raymond H. Berry
Officer Raymond H. Berry, 50, was concluding his shift when he suffered a fatal cerebral hemorrhage. Berry, a 16-year CHP veteran, had previously served with the San Jose City Police Department and had been a member of the Santa Clara County Squad before it was absorbed by the CHP in 1929.
Edgar C. Smith
Harold W. Irwin
Officer Harold W. Irwin was on his motorcycle in pursuit of a speeding vehicle when he was struck by a vehicle that had pulled into his traffic lane from a parking lane without signaling. Irwin died the night of March 20, 1945.
Charles H. Bridgeman
David R. Henderson
Officer David R. Henderson was killed when his motorcycle collided with an automobile driven by a motorist who pulled into his lane of traffic after deliberately passing a bus that had stopped to load and unload passengers. Henderson, 33, joined the CHP in 1942 after serving two years with the Burbank Police Department. He had also previously served as a Deputy Fish and Game Warden with the County of Los Angeles.
Vincent E. Munch
Lewis Gregg
Officer Lewis W. Gregg collided with a vehicle that turned suddenly in front of the motorcycle officer without signaling. Gregg was killed almost instantly. The 40-year-old patrol officer had joined the CHP two years earlier after previously working as a clerk in the traffic court in the city of San Diego.
John A. Reed
Officer John A. Reed had activated his red light and siren and begun his pursuit of a speeding automobile when he collided with a vehicle that turned left in front of his motorcycle. Reed was critically injured and died the following day. The 35-year-old patrol officer had joined the CHP in 1941 after prior service as a state police officer in Sacramento.
Wallace J. Muscovich
Officer Wallace J. Muscovich was off duty and walking on Franklin Street near 10th on April 16, 1944 when he heard a gunshot. He saw a man run out of a second-hand clothing store, stop, turn, and fire a round at the proprietor. The proprietor fell to the ground. The shooter ran south on Franklin followed by a young woman. Muscovich commandeered a passing car, jumped on the running board, and gave chase. He lost sight of the woman, but followed the suspect to a hotel, and confronted him in the second floor hallway.
Muscovich, described as a crack shot, fired three times at the armed suspect and dropped him. The suspect was able to fire twice at Muscovich, hitting him both times. The officer and the suspect were transported to Highland Hospital, and Oakland P.D. officers conducted an intense search for the female.
Investigators soon established that the suspect had attempted to rob the clothing store, and that his female accomplice was an escapee from a state institution.
Muscovich received massive blood transfusions from his brother officers. He hovered between life and death for a week, finally succumbing to his wounds on April 23. He was survived by his wife and 8-year-old son.
A native of Vilna, Poland, Muscovich was appointed to the Oakland Police Department as an “emergency patrolman” in June 1943; that is, he was a replacement for a regular officer who had been called into service for the war effort. He was a former professional wrestler who went by the name of “Ivan Managoff.”