On December 16, 1912, an unknown outlaw attacked a 16-year-old girl near Irvine Station in the area known as Tomato Springs and later held off a small army of deputy sheriffs, militiamen and citizens in a desperate gun battle that lasted six hours. In the exchange of gunfire, Undersheriff Robert Squires emptied his revolver, wounding the suspect, while receiving six rifle wounds.

After killing Undersheriff Squires, 44, and seriously wounding three others, the outlaw was finally shot and killed by the pose.

Undersheriff Squires formerly served with the Canadian Mounted Police and had done scouting in Montana before joining the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. He was popular in the community and his funeral service was one of the largest in Santa Ana history. He was described in his eulogy as “one of those men with a heart as big as a water bucket.”

At “the noon hour” on Friday, October 18, 1912, near a cannery in the small city of Winters, James Chapman noticed a man parading down the street brandishing a shotgun.  He summoned City Marshal William P. Rice and another officer, Constable Andrews.  The suspect, Jacinto Vaca, saw the men approach and retreated to his house.  Chapman and Andrews circled around the back of the home while Marshal Rice approached Vaca on the front porch, assuring him that he only wanted to discuss the matter.  Without warning Vaca fired at Rice, killing him instantly.  Vaca reloaded and ran into the street where Chapman apprehended him, throwing him to the ground.  Vaca was handcuffed and quickly taken to the city jail.

William Preston “Dick” Rice was 41 years old.  He was survived by his wife, “one of the most popular and charming ladies of this vicinity” the former Miss Alice Chadwick.  The two had one son who was 14 months old at the time of Rice’s death.

The family of Special Officer Charles A. Williams said that it was his life-long ambition to wear a uniform and badge.

In the late afternoon hours of April 21, 1912, Williams was on patrol in the area of East 12th Street and 13th Avenue. He saw two suspicious looking men alight from a streetcar and opted to stop and question them regarding pick-pocketing activities.

Williams felt that their answers to his questions were unsatisfactory, so he decided to walk them to the “lock-up” at the rear of the firehouse on East 14th Street. Williams did not search the suspects, an oversight that would cost him his life.

As the trio neared their destination, one suspect pulled free from his grasp and ran down an alley. Williams lunged after the suspect. Suddenly, two loud, sharp reports accompanied by a large cloud of smoke came from the alley. Williams fell dead to the sidewalk. He had been shot once in the heart and once in the head.

Williams entered the Oakland Police Department service in 1907. At the time of his death he was being considered for promotion to full membership in the department. His wife and five children survived him. His murderer was captured and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The headlines read, “Officer Slain in Midnight Battle”.  On a Sunday night in 1912, Inyo County Constable Walter Reed accompanied Bishop City Marshal Douglass Robinson in a raid on a Chinese restaurant in the city of Bishop.  The owner of the establishment, Gee Dong, a Chinese national, was suspected of ‘demoralizing’ local Indians by supplying them with liquor and opium, running prostitutes, and extorting money from other Chinese nationals in the community.

Constable Reed and Marshal Robinson demanded entry to the locked restaurant, stating their business.  Getting no response, Robinson went around to the back door, leaving his gun with Reed.  As Reed battered in the front door, he was immediately met by the suspect.  Dong was armed with two pistols and without hesitation opened fire on Constable Reed.  Reed was struck in the abdomen and fell mortally wounded.  Marshal Robinson, hearing the shots, entered the room to find Dong still standing in a doorway holding two smoking revolvers.  Unarmed, Robinson ran across the room and was immediately shot in each leg by Dong.  Robinson dove for the pistol lying next to Constable Reed, then turned and fired, hitting Dong twice, killing him instantly.

Constable Reed was survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter.

Thomas C. Borden, the first mounted officer of the department, lost his life at the hands of a burglar on the night of March 17, 1912. Returning from church services with Mrs. Borden, Tom surprised a burglar in the act of robbing his residence, and, unarmed, bravely attempted his capture. The burglar, using Borden’s revolver which he had stolen from the house, fired two shots, both taking effect in Borden’s body. Tom passed away about two hours later, and the greatest man-hunt in the history of the City of Long Beach was on. The killer was identified but never apprehended.