Archives: Fallen Officers

Alfred J. Poulter

In the evening hours of Aug. 22, 1914, Corporal Al Poulter and his partner, Special Officer Lester Manning, were racing by car to the scene of a fire at a rehabilitation institute in East Oakland. They were traveling south on Fruitvale Avenue, intending to turn onto East 14th Street. As they reached the intersection, their vehicle collided with another car.

Poulter died at the scene, and Manning sustained severe injuries. Their vehicle was totally destroyed.

Poulter was the first officer in the Oakland Police Department to die in an automobile accident.

Grant C. Alexander

Grant Alexander was a City Marshal and was at home when he was awakened after midnight by gunfire outside. He was drawn to a nearby shack by suspects who planned to ambush him due to his recent enforcement efforts of liquor laws. When Grant Alexander entered the shack, he was immediately fired upon and killed by two suspects. Upon Alexander’s death, the new City Marshal was given the power to appoint as many policeman as needed to provide protection at night, thereby forming the first police force for the city. Grant Alexander was survived by his wife Elizabeth “Lizzie” Nelkirk and a son and daughter.