Constable Herbert Glidden was assigned to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lancaster office at the time of his murder. William H. McCabe stole a car in San Francisco, attached plates from another vehicle and stopped to buy a can of yellow paint to disguise it further. The paint was still wet when deputies saw the car parked outside a Lancaster restaurant. When questioned, McCabe panicked and tried to drive away. Constable Glidden jumped on the running board and stuck his revolver through the open window. A curtain kept Glidden from seeing McCabe draw his own weapon. McCabe fired; Constable Glidden fell dead as the car sped away. Posses of armed citizens rode through the desert on horseback while search airplanes flew overhead. McCabe died in a gun battle with Special Deputy Will Suffelton.