Officer George F. Butler, 52, was flying as an observer in a CHP helicopter that was taking aerial photographs of a double traffic fatality on Interstate 80 near Dixon. After finishing the photographs, the helicopter then set down a short distance from the accident scene in an open field adjacent to an irrigation canal. Butler exited the left side of the aircraft and proceeded to walk up the edge of the canal’s raised berm when he was struck by the helicopter’s main rotor and hurled into the empty irrigation canal. The 21-year veteran of the CHP was killed instantly.

A Los Angeles teenager was driving without a license when he collided with a police car, killing the first San Bernardino policeman to die on duty in nearly 40 years, investigators said.

Sgt. Timothy F. Littlefield, the father of five children, died about an hour after the Sept. 14 wreck. The 16-year-old driver, whose name is being withheld by police, was treated for minor injuries and released from a hospital.

Littlefield, 37, was on his way to a check-cashing business at Fourth and G streets to supervise a forgery investigation. He knew another officer already had detained a suspect there and wasn’t in jeopardy, “so there was no reason for him to be hurrying to the call,” Bloomer said.

The front of the teenager’s borrowed Buick slammed into the driver’s door of the police car.

Littlefield was wearing his seatbelt. “But they’re not designed to (fully) protect you from a side impact,” said Sgt. Darryl Sellas.

The teenager wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and was ejected onto the pavement, but received only minor cuts and bruises.

Littlefield’s reputation is that of a family man who worked hard to become a cop, his colleagues said. “It’s too bad it happened to a nice guy,” said one sergeant.

“He is one of 13 children. And, of course, he has five children,” said Capt. Dan Robbins, commander of the patrol division.

Littlefield is a Navy veteran who was discharged in August 1971. He went to work at the sheriff’s office in 1974 as an evidence clerk and, the following year became a police assistant at San Bernardino Police Department.

As a police assistant, Littlefield processed paperwork and helped detectives who specialized in forgeries and bunco schemes. After 2 ½ years, he was hired as a policeman in August 1977.

At the time of his death, he had been a policeman for nine years. He was promoted to sergeant April 28.

Littlefield is believed to be the first San Bernardino police officer to die in the line of duty since a September 1947 car wreck killed Patrolmen Frank A. Rogers and Harris R. McCullough, department officials said.

The San Bernardino Police Officers Association has opened a trust fund for Littlefield’s daughter and four sons, whose ages range from 5 to 12. Donations to the Littlefield Memorial Fund may be made through P.O. Box 202, San Bernardino 92401.

August 16, 1986 was scheduled as a training session for the Sheriff’s Department Aerosquadron and Search and Rescue units. The mission objectives were to see how a fixed-wing aircraft could be used to search for drowning victims in the Kern River, state certify Ray Bockman’s search dog in a fixed-wing aircraft, and acclimate Sergeant Marvin Kline in a small fixed-wing aircraft since he was second-in-command for the Search and Rescue unit and had never flown in a small aircraft.

Doug Moonen, the volunteer Aerosquadron pilot with 12,000 hours of flight time, was piloting his Cessna 182 along the Kern River at a low altitude. Sergeant Marvin Kline was on the passenger side and Roy Bockman and his dog Kelly were in the back of the plane. The team was searching for drowning victims in the Kern River from the mouth of the canyon to Hart Park. Apparently, Doug Moonen forgot about the low electrical wires across the Kern River on the west end of Hart Park and piloted the plane into the wires. The investigation revealed Doug Moonen’s airplane clipped the electrical wires forcing the aircraft to the ground in a violent motion striking trees and killing all three men and the dog on impact.

Note: During the mission briefing Doug Moonen, who was the safety officer for the Aerosquadron, told all the pilots and Search and Rescue personnel more than once to remember the electrical wires extending across-the Kern River at the west end of Hart Park.

Doug Moonen’s aircraft came to rest on the north side of Mirror Lake approximately 200 yards from the west entrance of Hart Park. A monument now stands at the crash site to honor the four members of the plane crash.

August 16, 1986 was scheduled as a training session for the Sheriff’s Department Aerosquadron and Search and Rescue units. The mission objectives were to see how a fixed-wing aircraft could be used to search for drowning victims in the Kern River, state certify Ray Bockman’s search dog in a fixed-wing aircraft, and acclimate Sergeant Marvin Kline in a small fixed-wing aircraft since he was second-in-command for the Search and Rescue unit and had never flown in a small aircraft.

Doug Moonen, the volunteer Aerosquadron pilot with 12,000 hours of flight time, was piloting his Cessna 182 along the Kern River at a low altitude. Sergeant Marvin Kline was on the passenger side and Roy Bockman and his dog Kelly were in the back of the plane. The team was searching for drowning victims in the Kern River from the mouth of the canyon to Hart Park. Apparently, Doug Moonen forgot about the low electrical wires across the Kern River on the west end of Hart Park and piloted the plane into the wires. The investigation revealed Doug Moonen’s airplane clipped the electrical wires forcing the aircraft to the ground in a violent motion striking trees and killing all three men and the dog on impact.

Note: During the mission briefing Doug Moonen, who was the safety officer for the Aerosquadron, told all the pilots and Search and Rescue personnel more than once to remember the electrical wires extending across-the Kern River at the west end of Hart Park.

Doug Moonen’s aircraft came to rest on the north side of Mirror Lake approximately 200 yards from the west entrance of Hart Park. A monument now stands at the crash site to honor the four members of the plane crash.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Donald James De Meulle died as the result of the crash of the Hughes 500 helicopter into Lake Silverwood at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, July 31.

Deputy De Meulle was riding as observer in the craft with pilot Deputy Stephen Nix. The accident was the first fatality in San Bernardino County Sheriff’s aviation history.

The helicopter was on routine patrol enroute to Victorville from the Rialto airport when it hit Edison high voltage transmission lines adjacent to Lake Silverwood in the San Bernardino Mountains. At least one witness reported the aircraft’s engine to be emitting an erratic sound as it flew at a low altitude into the power lines. The chopper broke up on impact with the tail rotor section falling to the ground at the edge of the lake. The cockpit section with the main rotor then dived at a steep angle into the lake emitting flames at it fell according to witness on the ground. A shower of shrapnel-like parts showered the beach and lake area injuring a ten-year-old boy riding a jet ski and a 30-year-old woman who was lying on the beach.

According to a Sheriff’s spokesman, both observer De Meulle and pilot Nix were in the cockpit as it submerged in 12 feet of water. Deputy Nix, although suffering a broken neck vertebrae and back injuries, was able to release himself from his harness and rise to the lake surface, When Deputy De Meulle did not emerge from the cockpit, Nix made at least three attempts to dive below the surface and free his observer. Unsuccessful, Nix shouted for help to save his partner.

Several persons responded to the call for help including lifeguard Jeffrey Miller, 21, of Fontana. Miller sustained cuts and inhaled fuel while attempting to rescue De Meulle. Fifteen minutes elapsed before De Meulle was removed from the submerged helicopter.

De Meulle, 28, of Chino Hills was airlifted to San Bernardino County Medical Center by a Sheriff’s helicopter where he was pronounced dead at 2:37 p.m. De Meulle was a former Army helicopter pilot with more than 2,5000 hours of flight experience. He joined the Sheriff’s Department 2 ½ years ago. He leaves his wife Marilu, and two children, Danielo Allen, 6, and Kristy Anne, 4.

The pilot, Deputy Stephen Nix was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center where his condition was listed as good.

Some came from Oregon and Southern California. Others traveled to the Siskiyou County community from as far away as Washington state.

All had come to the Yreka High School football stadium to pay respects to Siskiyou County sheriff’s deputies Larry Breceda and Dale Rossetto, killed Thursday, July 31, in an airplane crash three miles southwest of Mt. Ashland in Oregon.

Breceda, 29, of Montague and Rossetto, 30, of Yreka were, at the time of the crash, on a marijuana-spotting mission in conjunction with the state’s Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) program.

Also killed was Redding pilot Noah Stinnett, 46.

The deputies’ deaths marked the first fatalities in the Sheriff’s Department in more than 30 years, and marked the first time offices have been killed during the four-year history of the CAMP program.

Some 400 uniformed law enforcement officers attended the hour-long, 9:30 a.m. service, which had all the rituals of a full military memorial. They were joined by some 600 friends, public officials and county residents.

Among those attending were officers from San Bernardino County; the Drug Enforcement Administration in Olympia, Washington; the FBI office in Sacramento; and state Department of Justice and Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, both in Sacramento.

Siskiyou County sheriff’s deputy Gary Peery said this morning that several at the ceremony had attended the regional police academy in Oroville with Breceda and Rossetto.

The crowd sat somberly in the mid-morning heat during a 21-gun salute, the playing of taps and a California Highway Patrol flyby.

In a eulogy by Peery and fellow deputy Larry Schaller, Breceda and Rossetto were described as “heroes” who died while working to better their community. The crowd stood in applause as Schaller told the victims’ families the deputies had not “died in vain.”

“One of the fathers approached me (after the service) and was overwhelmed by it,” Peery said of the camaraderie displayed among law enforcement officers at the service. “He said, ‘I didn’t know how you guys treated each other.’ ”

“A lot of people don’t understand the customs we have,” Peery said.

Since the airplane was discovered by a search team Sunday afternoon deputies wore black ribbons across their badges and county residents and public offices have flown flags at half-staff.

The flags were raised and the ribbons ripped off after the service, but Peery said a sense of resolution will not come until the cause of the crash is known.

We would all like to know exactly what caused it and as soon as possible,” he said.

The first Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty in 55 years was shot by a Los Gatos man with a history of “mental instability” and confrontations with police, authorities said.

In fact, officers responded on a number of occasions to reports of violent behavior by Michael Robert Stephens, including the day before Stephens fatally wounded Deputy Doug Miller and was himself killed in an exchange of gunfire, sheriff’s officials said, Monday, June 9.

Miller, 31, was shot in the lower abdomen after Stephens grabbed a gun from the deputy’s holster and started a shoot-out with three other deputies and a California Highway Patrol officer, sheriff’s officials said.

The officers were responding to a call from Stephens’ parents after Stephens became violent in their home in an unincorporated area near Los Gatos.

Miller, a seven-year member of the Sheriff’s Department, died early the next morning after emergency surgery at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose.

Sheriff Robert Winter called the deputy’s death “a sad occasion in the history of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department.”

In a speech in Sunnyvale to the California State Sheriffs Association, Gov. George Deukmejian said, “I am deeply saddened that an outstanding law enforcement officer has been killed. All of the officers demonstrated great bravery and a tremendous amount of courage.”

After Miller was wounded, Stephens, 28, was shot four times by Deputy Bill Scott. Another deputy, Dennis Nixon, was shot in the heel during the shoot-out and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose for treatment.

Winter said Scott and Nixon would be placed on routine administrative leave until “they are ready” to return to work.

According to Sheriff’s Department officials, Stephens had a history of mental problems and run-ins with police. Winter said Miller was aware of Stephens’ volatile history and had contact with the man prior to Sunday’s shooting.

Winter would not reveal the extent of Stephens’ police record, although Deputy Steve Lieurance said the Los Gatos man “did not have a big sheet” of past violations.

There was no record of Stephens having a felony record in Santa Clara County Superior Court, and Lieurance said there were no charges pending against Stephens when he was killed.

The shootings occurred about 9 p.m. after the Sheriff’s Department received a domestic disturbance call at the Stephens’ residence. The parents wanted their son taken to Valley Medical Center for psychiatric observation.

Winter said that deputies responded to the same type of call on Saturday, when Stephens fled the house before officers arrived.

When the deputies went to the house again Sunday night, Stephens’ mother cautioned them that her son was particularly violent and might have to be restrained, sheriff’s officials said.

According to Winter, Stephens was in a small room off the garage when the deputies approached him.

Stephens put up a struggle, at which point Miller tried to handcuff him.

Winter said that Stephens grabbed Miller’s service revolver and shot the deputy in the lower abdomen, below the bulletproof vest he was wearing.

After Miller was shot, deputies said that Scott grabbed Stephens’ gun and shot Stephens four times. But Stephens managed to fire the revolver three more times, one shot hitting Nixon in the heel.

Stephens was pronounced dead at the scene.

Miller, a native of San Jose, worked at the county jail before going to patrol several years ago. He was a Navy Veteran.

His parents, Walter and Lorraine Miller, of San Jose, survive him.

More than 500 uniformed officers were waiting silently for the memorial service for slain Torrance police Officer Thomas Joseph Keller to begin, when someone started whistling the “Star Spangled Banner.”

The whistler, who didn’t even realize he was whistling, was acting out his nervousness in a manner that underscored the sadness of the event.

Keller, who was shot and killed on Thursday, April 17, by a 22-year-old illegal alien in a Torrance sporting goods store, is the third officer in the 65-year history of the Torrance Police Department to be slain in the line of duty.

The last time a Torrance police officer was killed in the line of duty was December 22, 1968, when Keller was 8 years old.

Torrance Chief of Police Donald E. Nash, who stood behind a large emblematic police badge draped in black sash, called Keller “an outstanding officer who worked with compassion and dedication and knew about fear.”

“No one can explain why a crazed gunman did what he did,” said Nash.

Added Torrance Mayor Katy Geissert, “To think his life could have ended by a deranged individual is beyond our comprehension.”

A coroner’s autopsy disclosed that Rafael Hernandez Navarro, an illegal alien and a veteran of the Mexican army, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest soon after shooting Keller.

“Tom Keller was a true cop who faced pimps, prostitutes, dope addicts, thieves, liars and cons with professionalism and skill,” said Father Bill Caffrey, the police chaplain.

Lt. Robert M. Armstrong said a tree in Keller’s honor would be planted on the lawn in front of the Torrance Police Department.

Keller, who would have turned 26 on April 29, was due to be married in August. His fiancée, 25-year-old Patty Dahlia, sat with Keller’s family during the 35-minute outdoors service that concluded with a fly-by by five helicopters.

Besides Dahlen, Keller is survived by his parents, Eleanor and Max, a brother, John and two sisters, Ann Keller and Patricia Muraoka.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Raul Adauto was assigned Narcotics Bureau (Norwalk station crew). He was assigned to the Narcotics Bureau from August 14, 1983 until his death on April 5, 1986. Deputy Adauto had preciously been assigned to the Norwalk Station. Deputy Adauto sustained a knee injury while working. He failed to regain consciousness from the anesthesia during a subsequent surgical procedure to repair the knee injury.