Pat Mitchell was a reserve officer with the Eureka Police Department. On December 1st, 1974 during the evening hours Pat and another off-duty Eureka police officer were responding to a burglar alarm call during a time when a violent riot was taking place in another part of town. They responded because no on-duty units were available.

A citizen pulled out from a stop sign and the car in which Pat was a passenger collided with it. The car caught fire and Pat perished in the flames.

Pat Mitchell’s dedication to duty will not be forgotten.

At the time of his death, Leslie James Prince was a four-year veteran with this Department. He served as a uniformed patrol officer from 1970 until his death in 1974. He died at age 26, in the line of duty, after having been struck by a vehicle driven by a 26 year old male who was subsequently arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and vehicular manslaughter.

Officer Prince and his partner were assigned to assist a traffic officer in traffic control at the intersection of Beach and Adams. There had been a power failure which caused the traffic signals at the intersection to malfunction. The intersection was dark as a result of a lack of illumination attributed to the power failure.

Shortly after his arrival, officer Prince took up a position in the intersection to direct traffic. Other officers were deployed at the intersection as well and the situation was well controlled.

After only a short period of time, Officer Prince was struck by a speeding pick-up truck which had entered the Intersection against the direction of another officer. Officer Prince was thrown onto the hood of the vehicle, carried for a distance and rolled into the street when the vehicle came to rest. Officer Prince was treated at the scene by paramedics and transported to Huntington Intercommunity Hospital. He sustained two broken legs, broken ribs, head injuries and other internal injuries.

Officer Prince was survived by his wife Linda, and infant child, along with his parents Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Prince, and a brother and sister.

The Huntington Beach City Council and Recreation and Parks Commission memorialized the death of Officer Prince with the dedication of Les Prince Park on April 6, 1979.

State Police Officer David A. Jack was assigned to patrol the Los Angeles Dispatch Center and was on the first watch when his body was discovered in an office doorway. Jack’s service revolver was still in his holster and he had apparently been ambushed by a gunman who shot the state police officer once in the temple. Officer Jack was rushed to the hospital but died just hours later. The 21-year-old State Police officer had been appointed to state police service only seven months earlier. The killer was later apprehended and charged with the murder of Officer Jack.

Deputy James Foote died in an on-duty traffic collision on October 4, 1974. Deputy Foote and his partner, Deputy Ross Rudin was en route to a gang fight call in a residential area of the City of Norwalk, California. Deputy Foote was driving at approximately 45 to 50 miles per hour. He was not wearing his seatbelt, Deputy Rudin was.

As the patrol car entered the intersection of Curtis and King Road and Everest Street, it was struck by a 1970 Oldsmobile Toronado that ran a stop sign. The Oldsmobile was driven by a 15-year-old DUI traveling east on Everest Street at 35 to 40 miles per hour.

The impact caused the patrol car to be launched, rotate counterclockwise and come to rest in the front yard of a residence at the southwest corner of the intersection.

As the collision occurred, Deputy Foote’s patrol car door opened and he was thrown to the pavement. He struck the south curb of Everest Street. He died instantly.

Deputy Rudin sustained injuries to his knees and hands. Undoubtedly, he didn’t suffer greater injuries in the collision because he was wearing his seatbelt.