Archives: Fallen Officers

Robert Lee Powers

Ofc. Robert Lee Powers was killed on June 16, when his police motorcycle was struck head-on by a drunk driver who was driving on the wrong side of the road.

The impact of the accident caused Powers to be thrown over his handlebars and through the vehicle’s windshield. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The suspect was convicted of drunken driving, violation of the Volstead Act, and manslaughter and sentenced to five years. Powers had been with the San Diego Police Department for three years.

His wife and two daughters survived him.

Frank H. Dependener

On February 22, 1928 the Placer County Sheriff’s Department lost one of its most famous law men when Deputy Frank H. “Big Dip” Dependener was killed in a traffic accident, returning from a raid on an illegal liquor operation in the Roseville area. The vehicle in which “Big Dip” was a passenger collided with another vehicle and rolled down a twenty-five foot embankment, coming to rest upside down. “Big Dip” suffered a broken neck and died instantly. Placer County Sheriff Elmer Gum, also a passenger in the vehicle suffered major injuries but survived.

“Big Dips” funeral was one of the largest ever held in Placer County and was attended by individuals from all over the State.

A friend and colleague, Sacramento Police Captain Ed Brown described him as “one of the best known, best liked and most feared men in public service”.

At six-feet, seven inches, “Big Dip” was the tallest man in the County, and his imposing size and sheer strength were qualifications enough for being appointed a Deputy Sheriff in 1891 when he was just 21. He stayed on as a deputy for the next 37 years, through the administration of four Sheriff’s.

The media of the times observed “for more than a third of a century, F. H. Dependener was identified with police activities in Placer County. During that time he was shot at many times, and hit, cut at many times, and cut, struck at many times, and struck, but he always came back”.

“Big Dip” was never far from the action himself, and never afraid to wade into trouble. After his death, the Auburn Journal reported “Dependener was said to have been wounded at least seven times by bullets, and to have borne about thirty marks inflicted by hostile criminals with weapons of various kinds”

When “Big Dips” wife died in 1904, having reservations about being a single parent, he sent his two daughters, Beatrice and Mignon to live with a local resident, Mrs. E. Richenmacher. He provided for their support and education until they were grown.

During the long and illustrious career of this great law man, if a crime of any consequence occurred in Placer County, you would almost have to assume that “Big Dip” would be involved.

The Texas Rangers pride themselves in sending one Texas Ranger to handle one riot. The Placer County Sheriff’s Department had their own “one man gang”, Deputy Frank H. “Big Dip: Dependener.

Wiliam J. Davis

On Jan. 4, 1928, Inspectors William J. Davis and Jules Sterniskey of the Oakland Police Department went to a residence in response to a call from neighbors who said that the residents kept “peculiar” hours and that there was a possibility that two of them were wanted in Los Angeles. Answering their knock on the door, a woman told the inspectors that she and her baby were alone in the house. She denied knowing the two men mentioned by the neighbors.

Davis looked under the curtains of a window and saw two men inside the house. Telling Sterniskey what he saw, he went around to the back of the house.

Followed by Sterniskey, the woman retreated into the house, and he lost sight of her. Apparently, she was grabbed by one of the men and pulled into a rear bedroom. Davis reached the rear door and began to pound on it. The door opened slightly and one of the men inside began shooting. Three rounds passed through the door and struck Davis. He exchanged shots with the occupants of the house.

Though wounded, Davis picked up a heavy wooden leaf from a table and used it as a shield as he attempted to force the door open. As the firefight continued, more officers arrived to help the inspectors. They could hear a man and a woman pleading with another man to drop his gun and give himself up. He refused, and continued to fire at the officers.

When, finally, he called out that he would surrender, two officers plunged into the house to arrest him. He met them and fired pointblank at them. They shot back and then he gave up. All three suspects were taken into custody.

During the shootout, Davis was carried out of the house by fellow officers despite his pleas to “finish the fight.” As he was loaded into the ambulance, it was struck several times by bullets coming from inside the house.

Davis was struck once in the abdomen and twice in the hand, losing one finger. He spent several hours in surgery and was given a fair chance at survival, even though he had lost a great deal of blood and was in shock. Unfortunately, he suffered a blood clot near his heart as a result of his wounds. Davis died in the late evening hours of Jan. 5, 1928.

His assailants were charged with his murder and that of an Oakland grocer they had robbed and killed on New Year’s Day.