At about 7:20 on a dark, winter evening, mounted Officer George W. Brown, patrolling in the area of 26th Street and Broadway, decided to stop and interview a bicyclist. The bicyclist seemed to be loitering, leaning his bike against a telephone pole in front of a house with a yard, trees and luxuriant foliage. Brown dismounted and led his horse over to near where the individual was standing. He called the bicyclist to come to him.

Without warning, from the shadowy foliage behind the bicyclist, “a hand was thrust out of the darkness and three shots rang out as one. Brown staggered back exclaiming “Murder! Murder! I am shot!”

Two of the shots struck Brown in the chest. One round severed his pulmonary artery. After being shot, Brown staggered back and fell into the gutter. The bicyclist ran to his aid, as did an off-duty fireman. Together, they carried the mortally wounded officer across the street to Providence Hospital. Unable to give an account on the attack, Brown expired minutes after reaching the hospital.

The murderer fled along 26th Street towards Telegraph. An off-duty police officer that lived nearby heard the shots and Brown’s cry. He called in the alarm. “All avenues of egress from Oakland were closely guarded,” and the department quickly spread word of the shooting to all the neighboring jurisdictions.

The investigators learned that shortly before the attack on Brown, a “footpad” (robber) had robbed a young man at gunpoint in the neighborhood. They theorized that the robber, hiding in the shadows cast by the trees and buildings, mistakenly thought Brown was beckoning to him, and intended to arrest him for the robbery. Fear of arrest led him to shoot Brown.

The murderer managed to escape from Oakland, but was apprehended several years later in Stockton.

Constable Fred M. Bristol was attending a Mexican Ball on Sixth Street as a spectator on the evening of May 5, 1904. After taking his wife home, he returned to see if he was needed officially. There was trouble between three men and Bristol and his deputy decided to arrest them. Two were taken into custody per the deputy and the third fled. Bristol gave chase. Shortly after midnight, a young man going home from town found Bristol’s body near Sixth and D streets. He had been stabbed.

On May 6, Francisco Ortiz was arrested for Bristol’s murder and positively identified as the man Bristol had chased.

Bristol, 33, had been elected Constable for Chino Township in 1896 and re-elected in 1902. He was from Nebraska and had lived in Chino for 10 years.

On a Friday evening, at around 6:20 p.m., Officer James H. Smith Jr., was on patrol in the area of 14th and Madison. He saw two men pushing bicycles down the street. They caught his interest because of the suspicious manner in which they were examining the residences. Smith “concluded to keep them under surveillance.” Their tour of the neighborhood took them all the way around the block back to the point at which Smith had first seen them.

Officer Smith determined that the “twain were crooks” and stopped them. Placing them under arrest for being “suspicious characters,” he ordered them to start heading for the City Hall jail. One of the outlaws stepped backward and drew a revolver. Smith began to draw his own weapon. The outlaw shot at Smith, hitting him twice. The officer returned fire and, missing his assailant, struck the other suspect twice. In all, seven shots were exchanged.

The two outlaws fled and Smith, mortally wounded, staggered to a nearby residence where he collapsed on the steps. Passersby and residents gathered to aid the stricken policeman. Meanwhile, witnesses to the shooting trailed the suspects to the area of 14th and Oak. The wounded suspect fell to the ground and succumbed to his wounds. The “shooter” made good his escape, yet left numerous clues behind him.

Before going on duty that day, Smith spoke with one of his brothers and said he intended to work extra that night because he had “porch climbers and other miscreants” working the area. His brother cautioned him to be careful. Smith vowed to arrest the perpetrators.

Officer James H. Smith Jr., 33, had been appointed to Oakland Police Department in late 1901. He was survived by his mother, three brothers, and two sisters.