Archives: Fallen Officers
Gary K. McDonald
Richard R. Lefebvre
Officer Richard R. Lefebvre was shot and killed on August 15, 1965, while working a civil disturbance call in the vicinity of 1380 California Avenue.
Ronald E. Ludlow
Deputy Ronald Ludlow was temporally assigned to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Firestone Park Station in south-central Los Angeles at the time of his death. He was the fist fatality of the Watts riots. He and several other Sheriff’s units were on Imperial Highway and Wilmington Avenue trying to disperse a crowd from a liquor store that had been looted and set on fire. Shots were fired at the deputies as they stood their ground. Ludlow’s partner carried a shotgun when he approached a vehicle, ordering them to leave. Instead, an occupant grabbed the gun, the deputy twisted it out of his grasp and the weapon discharged, hitting Deputy Ludlow in the stomach. Deputy Don Kennedy, who was near Deputy Ludlow when he fell to the ground, recalled him saying, “I don’t feel too bad.” Deputy Ludlow died in the lap of a fellow Deputy Jack Miller while being rushed to St. Francis Hospital in a patrol car. The suspect, who tried to disarm the deputy with the shotgun, was convicted for manslaughter.
Brice L. Woody
On the afternoon of July 14, 1965 Officer Brice Woody was investigating reports of juveniles throwing rocks at moving trains in Oakland, when he approached a group of juveniles drinking beer in a nearby garage.
One of the juveniles went into the house and came out with a 12-gauge shotgun. The suspect began yelling profanities at Woody then pulled the trigger, striking him in the stomach. Woody survived and was able to give a statement saying he had been shot by a 16 year old male. He had his badge in hand at the time of the shooting and was attempting to talk the boy into putting the gun down. The shooter, 16-year-old Dennis Cunningham was taken into custody shortly after.
Officer Woody was transported to Merritt Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on July 23, 1965.
Arden Webster
James Mancusi Jr.
Ralph Canning
Vernon L. Cox
Deputy Vernon L. Cox, Tulare Co. Sheriff’s Dept., died in the line of duty on April 15, 1965. Cox, along with Deputy Donald L. Green and Sgt. Ralph M. Cross, were investigating burglaries in the Tulare area and were enroute to recover stolen items and to try to arrest a burglary suspect when their unit was struck in an intersection by another car. Green and Cross recovered from their injuries.
Cox, 29, was a native of Norman, Oklahoma, attended Porterville Union High School, and was an Air Force veteran of the Korean War.
His wife, Betty Lou; two sons, Wendell and Wessie; and a daughter, Belinda, survived him.
Merrel L. Kissinger
Officer Merrel L. Kissinger was transporting a prisoner he arrested for suspicion of drunk driving near Carlsbad on U.S. Highway 101. Kissinger was enroute to the San Diego County Jail when his prisoner opened fire through the wire mesh divider that confined him, and killed the 39-year-old officer while he drove the patrol car. Kissinger died from three shots fired from a small .25 caliber handgun the prisoner managed to conceal when searched by another officer. The killer was captured when he failed to break out of the patrol car after it skidded to a stop. Officer Kissinger, a 14-year veteran of the CHP, was on the promotional list for sergeant at the time of his death.
