Officer James J. Schumacher, Jr. stopped and cited a speeding car on U.S. Highway 99 and was obtaining the driver’s signature when a passing car drifted toward the shoulder, sideswiped the parked car, and struck Schumacher. The officer was dragged more than 100 feet before being thrown free. He died instantly. The elderly driver who hit Schumacher apparently fell asleep, and was charged with manslaughter. Schumacher, 33, was a 12-year CHP veteran, and had served in the South Los Angeles and Westminster areas before transferring to Merced in 1980. In a tragic footnote to the crash, Schumacher’s badge, ripped from his shirt, had been taken by a souvenir hunter. A facsimile badge (7l64) had to be produced for the Schumacher family.

Officer Schumacher was survived by his wife and two sons, ages seven and 10. His youngest son is now an officer with the CHP as of April 1999.

Two San Diego police officers and a Linda Vista man were killed on June 6, 1981, as a neighborhood dispute over a rosebush erupted into an outbreak of shooting that lasted more than an hour.

The dead officers were identified as Harry K. Tiffany, 32, who died at the scene, and Ronald R. Ebeltoft, 34, who died shortly after he was taken to Sharp Hospital.

Their assailant, Tom Siota, 39, a civilian electrician at the North Island Naval Air Station, was shot to death on his porch by Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) officers who had been pinned down by gunfire.

Tiffany and Ebeltoft were called to the site of the incident at 4:06 p.m. after a woman was struck and kicked by Siota, witnesses said.

The two officers walked to the driveway leading to Siota’s garage, and neighbors saw Siota come from behind his home with a rifle held in his right hand with the muzzle pointed downward.

The officers did not see Siota approaching until bystanders shouted, “There he is.” Siota placed the rifle on the top of a wooden gate at the side of the garage and aimed at the two officers. One of them shouted “Take cover.” They were shot repeatedly before they could draw their weapons.

SWAT team members finally worked their way through the gunfire and drew close to Siota’s home and shot him to death. His body lay on the front porch of his home as Medevac personnel worked frantically on the dying officers sprawled in the driveway. A police spokesman said Ebeltoft had been with the department since January 1979 and Tiffany since July 1979.

Two San Diego police officers and a Linda Vista man were killed on June 6, 1981, as a neighborhood dispute over a rosebush erupted into an outbreak of shooting that lasted more than an hour.

The dead officers were identified as Harry K. Tiffany, 32, who died at the scene, and Ronald R. Ebeltoft, 34, who died shortly after he was taken to Sharp Hospital.

Their assailant, Tom Siota, 39, a civilian electrician at the North Island Naval Air Station, was shot to death on his porch by Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) officers who had been pinned down by gunfire.

Tiffany and Ebeltoft were called to the site of the incident at 4:06 p.m. after a woman was struck and kicked by Siota, witnesses said.

The two officers walked to the driveway leading to Siota’s garage, and neighbors saw Siota come from behind his home with a rifle held in his right hand with the muzzle pointed downward.

The officers did not see Siota approaching until bystanders shouted, “There he is.” Siota placed the rifle on the top of a wooden gate at the side of the garage and aimed at the two officers. One of them shouted “Take cover.” They were shot repeatedly before they could draw their weapons.

SWAT team members finally worked their way through the gunfire and drew close to Siota’s home and shot him to death. His body lay on the front porch of his home as Medevac personnel worked frantically on the dying officers sprawled in the driveway. A police spokesman said Ebeltoft had been with the department since January 1979 and Tiffany since July 1979.

Officer Warner died on June 1, 1981 from an accidental gunshot wound.

A police officer and a suspected bank robber were killed and another officer wounded shortly before noon today during a holdup of the Bank of America in downtown Redwood City.

Authorities said a second suspect escaped in late-model, blue Pontiac Trans Am. He was described as a white male with long blond hair.

Roadblocks were set up through San Mateo County, and a California Highway Patrol helicopter was being used in the search for the second suspect.

The dead officer was identified as Sgt. George Garrett, 38, head of the department’s narcotics detail. Shot in the right arm and left hand was detective Robert Peele, 28. He was undergoing surgery at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, police said. His condition was reported as good.

Police Chief George Bold said four officers were dispatched to the bank at 110 California Ave. at about 11:55 a.m. in answer to a silent alarm.

Bank spokesperson Sharon Woodson said “A suspect went up to the manager and threatened him with a bomb. At that point, the manager alerted an employee to hit the silent alarm.”

She said police responded to the bank, which was crowded with customers, within three minutes. It was not clear whether the robber actually was carrying a bomb.

Bold said Garrett approached the manager’s desk and identified himself as a policeman. Shots rang out. Garrett was shot in the head and chest. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Sequoia Hospital.

Bold said Detective Dale Switzer returned the fire, killing the man who had shot Garrett. The slain suspect was not immediately identified.

Dan Hurly, 21, of Belmont, one of the customers inside the crowded bank, said he was in line when police came in and “yelled something.”

Hurly said everyone dropped to the floor and a scuffle ensued behind the teller’s cage. He said a desk was knocked over and someone came flying over the barrier.

Hurly said he heard three quick shots followed by three or four more. Police said no money was taken from the bank.

Los Angeles County Reserve Deputy Sheriff Constance Worland, 39, was accidentally shot and killed by her partner while they were responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call in Carson on May 2, 1981. She became the first and only (known) woman reserve officer in the U.S. to die in the line of duty.

Around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, 1981, Worland and her partner, Deputy Phillip James Strenkowski, 28, a five-year veteran, were about to go on P.M. patrol when they received a “man with a gun” call, inside a condo complex. Before they left Worland placed four rounds into the Ithaca Model 37 shotgun, and the weapon was placed in the floorboard rack.

When the deputies arrived at the location, another deputy with a shotgun was going up a walkway and Worland exited with her service revolver drawn. Strenkowski took the shotgun from the patrol vehicle and joined the other officers. When a garage door suddenly opened, everyone turned toward it and Strenkowski charged the shotgun by manipulating the pump action. It turned out to be a tenant, however, the bleeding victim of the “245” came to the deputies and they were directed to where the suspect was.

Strenkowski, leaving the safety off and the weapon charged, placed the shotgun in the rack and drove to the location, which is around the corner from the first location. When they arrived he asked Worland if she wanted the shotgun, she declined and began exiting the passenger door of the vehicle. Strenkowski reached for the latch on the shotgun holder, trying to avoid Worland’s helmet that she let on the floorboard. He grabbed the shotgun and heard the sound of a gunshot. Believing one of the other deputies or the suspect had fired the shot, he looked at Worland. She was outside the vehicle with her back to him, she turned facing Strenkowski and he observed a pained expression on her face. Worland slumped to the ground and it was at this instant Strenkowski realized he had accidentally shot his partner.

Worland was transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and was rushed into surgery. She regained consciousness but died two hours after arriving at the hospital of massive internal bleeding caused by the gunshot wound in her back.

Strenkowski, 28, was not charged since an investigation by the homicide bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department concluded that the shooting was an accident. Investigators later had him recreate his exact movements and conducted several tests. The simulations demonstrated that the shotgun discharged when it struck the steering column as it was being removed from the vehicle.

Worland was born Constance Ellen Gunn on Oct. 30, 1941, in Toledo, Ohio to Ashley and Janet Gunn. She was raised in Toledo, Ohio but moved to Glendora with her mother in the mid-1950s. She graduated from Baldwin Park High School in 1960 where she was active as a majorette and in the choir.

Worland became a reserve officer on Jan. 16, 1977, and completed 400 hours of training with Reserve Class 44. She was first assigned to the downtown Metro division before being assigned to the Carson station in 1978.

Sgt. Jack Ryan, the reserve coordinator at the Carson station, noted, “As often as we asked her to work, she volunteered even more. She was a fantastic person.”

Worland wanted to be a full-time deputy sheriff “but her age was against her.” (She was 36 when she became a reserve and a full-time deputy had to complete training and join the force before reaching 35).

On March 13, 1978, she was hired for full-time work as a communications systems operator (i.e., dispatcher) for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office at the communications center in East Los Angeles. However, she continued to work as a reserve officer in her off-duty hours.

The family declined a police funeral and thus Worland’s service was held without the traditional police honors. In respect for the family’s wishes for a “non-military” funeral, the numerous police officers that attended the service wore civilian attire.

Since Worland’s nickname was “Sunshine” and her favorite color was yellow, the police cars parked outside the church had yellow ribbons fluttering from the antennas. Also, many of the mourners at the service wore yellow ribbons and the casket was decorated with a “star-shaped badge of yellow flowers.”

Pastor Dave Miller told the mourners that Connie was “extremely dedicated” to her work as a dispatcher and as a volunteer reserve officer. He noted that “It was more than a job to her, it was a calling.” As a dispatcher “She was more than good, she was one of the best” and as a reserve she “Had great respect not only from the other reserves but from the regulars as well.” On a personal level, Miller described Connie as “A contagiously happy person (thus the nickname, “Sunshine”) who had a real joy.”

After the funeral service, a procession of 50 police cars led mourners from the church to Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress. Red fire engines were parked at several intersections along the way, and firemen stood in front of them, their hands over their hearts. A police helicopter flew above.

At the grave the minister presented a yellow rose to each of deputy Worland’s daughters and then the three girls stood, joined hands, and walked to the pink casket. One by one, they placed the yellow roses on top of the coffin.

Besides her parents, Worland was survived by her three daughters, Elaine, 20, Linda, 17, and Denise, 16; and brother, Byron “Mike” Gunn.

On May 2, 1981, a sergeant for the Lake County Sheriff’s Department was shot and killed, after he stopped to assist what he believed to be two stranded motorists.

Sgt. Richard Helbush, a 13-year veteran of the department, was returning to the main office shortly after midnight when he observed a vehicle with a flat tire along the roadway in an isolated area. Stopping to see if he could help, Helbush discovered Robert Cox, 39, and Annika Deasy, 27, both of Stockton. As Helbush returned to his vehicle, he was shot three times in the back by Cox. Unknown to Lake County authorities, Cox and Deasy were suspects in a homicide in Stockton.

Taking Helbush’s wallet and revolver, Cox and Deasy left the scene in the sheriff’s patrol vehicle. When dispatch could not contact Helbush, other units responded for back up, finding him dead at the scene.

Another deputy located the stolen patrol vehicle, and went in pursuit, which ended when the stolen vehicle crashed into a tree. A gun battle followed, with Cox wounded in the arm, and Deasy taken in custody without injury.

More than 300 uniformed peace officers attended the funeral for Helbush, 34, who was interred at Kelseyville Cemetery.

Helbush, was the second officer of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department to be killed in the line of duty in recent times, the other being a court guard in 1967.

On October 21, after being bound over for trial by preliminary hearing, Robert Cox hung himself in his cell at the Lake County Jail.

San Quentin Staff killed in Line of Duty

Charles L. Sickles Wood Product Factory Supervisor, died on April 1, 1981 of injuries received while on the job at San Quentin on March 30.

The veteran correctional employee was attacked by an inmate while he was sitting at his desk writing daily production reports. He was the second CDC staff to be killed in the line of duty during 1981.

Sickles, 65 was a native of Missouri. He served in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945 and began his state service as a textile foreman in the old jute mill at San Quentin in 1956.

In 1958 he served for a years as a correctional officer, then returned to the textile mill in 1959. He became a supervisor in 1970 and held that post until his untimely death.

He was survived by his wife and three children.

NOTE: the above is lifted from the Dept of Corrections newsletter “Newscam” vol VIII No. 3, May 1981.