On the evening of December 15, 1961, Constable Iver Johanson suffered a fatal heart attack while struggling with an intoxicated, combative suspect.

“Officer Dies in Struggle with Suspect” read the front page headline of the December 21, 1961 Selma Enterprise.  The article explained that while patrolling through the Freeway Lanes bowling alley parking lot, located at Dinuba Avenue and Highway 99, Constable Johanson observed a hit and run accident involving a vehicle driven by Robert Charles Ortiz.  Ortiz failed to stop and exited the parking lot with Johanson in pursuit.  Constable Johanson activated his vehicle’s emergency equipment and followed Ortiz a short distance onto Highway 99 where Ortiz finally yielded.

Deputy Constable Alex Lopez, who was on foot near Freeway Lanes, observed the vehicle stop and Constable Johanson having conversation with Ortiz.  Johanson successfully removed the combative Ortiz from his vehicle and managed to handcuff one of Ortiz’s hands when Ortiz increased his resistance.  Lopez went to Johanson’s assistance.  A fight ensued during which Constable Johanson was attacked with his own blackjack.  Johanson was knocked to the ground and was semi-conscious while Lopez and Ortiz fought.  Lopez recovered Johanson’s blackjack and used it to subdue Ortiz.  Ortiz was booked into the Fresno County Jail on numerous charges.

Constable Johanson was transported to Selma District Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Iver Johanson was born in Sweden on June 14, 1904, immigrated with his family to the United States in 1905, and grew up in Fresno County.  Johanson, a twenty-year law enforcement veteran had been a police officer for the City of Selma and was elected Constable in 1950.  Johanson was survived by his wife and stepson.

Deputy Roger Bauman and his partner, Warren Lee were following up on an attempt robbery that had just occurred at a bar on Auburn Boulevard. A short time later they observed the suspect vehicle and initiated a short pursuit.

The suspect made several attempts to ram the patrol car before Deputy Bauman was able to force the suspect to stop.

Deputy Bauman pointed his service weapon at the suspect from the patrol car as Deputy Lee got out and ran around the back of the unit in an effort to approach the suspect vehicle. As he did so he heard two shots.

An exchange of gun fire followed which left Deputy Bauman gravely injured.

The suspect died at the scene.

Deputy Roger Bauman died a short time later at the hospital after all attempts to save his life failed. The Roger Bauman Facility at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center is named in honor of this fallen officer.

Deputy Bauman is buried at East Lawn Memorial Park on Folsom Boulevard and 43rd Street.

Detective Timothy Harnett was assigned to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Vice Bureau at the time of his death. Detective Harnett suffered a heart attack while in foot pursuit of a vice suspect and subsequently died.

Fresno County Sheriff’s Sergeant Richard T. Bain, 38, died Nov. 16, 1961, when his marked unit crashed into the front bedroom of a home on East Cortland Avenue in Fresno.

Mr. and Mrs. Clifford A. Galpin, owners of the house, had gone from the bedroom into the living room moments before the accident.

The impact crushed a section of the wall and pushed the lower part of the wall about a foot into the bedroom. The Galpins’ bed, though jarred out of position, was not damaged. Sheriff Melvin E. Willmirth said Bain had a tooth pulled at 10:30 p.m. then returned to duty. Willmirth said it does not appear the tooth extraction had anything to do with the accident.

“It looks like it was just a case of fatigue,” Willmirth said, theorizing that Bain possibly fell asleep at the wheel.

Bain headed a three-man detail assigned to follow up investigations of misdemeanors. Willmirth said the nature of the detail made it necessary for Bain to keep long and irregular hours.

Bain had been a sheriff’s officer for 10 years.

“He was a fine investigator,” Willmirth said of Bain. “He was one of those natural officers who could pick up where the ordinary investigators would leave off. He had done a terrific job on his present detail. His loss will be deeply felt in the department. “My husband and I were sitting in the living room,” explained Mrs. Galpin, “when we heard this awful noise. My first thought was that the cooler was falling off the roof.”

“It sounded like the crash was on the roof. I don’t know why. Anyhow the cooler was the first thing I thought of. But the noise was tremendous, I’m still shaking.”

“My husband and I saw the car and could hear a man moaning. There seemed to be a lot of dust floating around, I ran next door and called the police and ambulance. It was good luck for us that we were in the living room and not in bed.”

Officers said Bain was pinned in the car. Firemen helped the police remove him. He was dead on arrival at the Fresno County General Hospital.

Bain, 38, is survived by his widow, Betty; three children; and his mother, Mrs. Eva Bain, of Greensboro, NC.

He was a World War II marine and was appointed a deputy sheriff in 1951. He became a sergeant in November of last year. He had headed the follow-up detail for about eight months, officers said.

Officer Richard Earl Kunkle was a Burbank Police Motorcycle Officer when he died on September 22, 1961. He was employed by the Burbank Police Department from January 4, 1954 until his death. On September 18, 1961 at 7:10am Officer Kunkle was on patrol and attempting to catch a motorist. A vehicle pulled out from a side street and partially into oncoming traffic. When the driver saw the officer appraching with his red lights on he tried to back up, out of the officers way. Officer Kunkle tried to avoid the vehicle by trying to pass to the rear. Officer Kunkle lost control of his motorcycle and was thrown to the pavement, striking his head. Ofc Kunkle died from his injuries one hour later. Officer Kunkle had been employed by the Anchorage (Alaska) Police Department from September 1949 until July 1951. He left behind a wife and four children, Cheryl, Gerald, Rebecca and David.

Deputy Donald Lee Gregory, 28, was killed instantly when the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department car in which he was riding was forced off the highway by another car. Deputy David Hoffenkamp, 38, who was driving, was only slightly injured in the accident on Highway 118 near Simi.

Officers said that Hoffenkamp, westbound on the road, saw a car in the heavy eastbound traffic start to drift into his lane. The deputy finally was forced to drive off the right side of the road striking a power pole. Witnesses told investigating officers that the car that caused the accident did not stop.

An investigation was started immediately in an effort to locate that car. “We have men working on it now,” Inspector Volney Cummins of the sheriff’s office said.

Sheriff William E. Hill stated, “We don’t have any actual eye witnesses, but several motorists at the accident scene have reported in. He added, “We don’t know if the car came in contact with the deputies’ car, but we do know that it was on the wrong side of the road.”

Capt. Bert Stephens, commander of the Thousand Oaks sub-station, said that both deputies’ seat belts were fastened at time of the crash. No estimate of speed of the car was given.

Sheriff’s officers recalled the irony of an accident two years ago in which two deputies were killed and Gregory received only a small cut. That accident in Thousand Oaks on Sept. 3, 1959, killed deputies Larry Taylor and Kent Place. Place was Gregory’s brother-in-law.

Gregory, who had joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1959, was a graduate of the Sheriff’s Academy in Los Angeles. He had just recently been assigned to the Thousand Oaks substation and had also served in the Sheriff’s Jail and Patrol Divisions.

Born May 26, 1933, he lived in Ventura County since 1942, and was a graduate of Oxnard High School. He was a veteran of the Korean conflict.

Gregory is survived by his wife, June; son, Steven Lee, 8; daughter, Dawn Kim, 5; parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry E. Gregory; brother, Robert E. Gregory, all of Thousand Oaks; and grandmother, Mrs. Lema Gregory of Helena, Texas.

Services were conducted at the Griffin Brothers Chapel in Thousand Oaks. Rev. Gerhardt Knutson of the Ascension Lutheran Church officiated. Interment took place at the Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Montalvo.

Deputy Roger Strong was employed by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for seven months. He was hired on January 1, 1961, and was assigned to the Blythe Station.

Deputy Strong began his career in law enforcement with the East St. Louis, Illinois Police Department in 1956. He moved to this area and began working with this department in 1961.

On August 7, 1961, Deputy Strong and Sergeant Ralph Gallagher were on a rescue mission in the desert. They were looking for persons who had become lost. The rescue jeep that Deputy Strong and Sergeant Gallagher drove broke down and the officers began walking back to the highway. Deputy Strong was overcome by the heat and never regained consciousness.

Deputy Strong was survived by his wife, Audrey, and two children.