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Los Angeles County Sheriffs' Museum, Los Angeles, CA (2026)

07/01/2023

A big thank you to the Port of Los Angeles community relations team for the privilege in allowing Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department classic cars to be showcased at San Pedro Historic Downtown Waterfront (PBID) Cars and Stripes car show. Special Thanks to Los Angeles Port Police for their hospitality. We hope the Harbor Area community enjoyed Los Angeles County Sheriffs' Museum classic vehicles.

05/14/2023

We Remember and Honor LASD Constable William E. Funkhouser, End of Watch (EOW) May 14, 1922, Gunfire

During the early morning hours of May 14, 1922, a burglar stalked the quiet streets of San Dimas Township. His illegal activities began shortly after 3 a.m. at the Esparza residence at First and Depot Streets, where he lifted a pocketbook containing $75 and escaped undetected. However, he was less fortunate at the second residence he entered. Mrs. Blackwell, who rented out rooms at her home at 316 West Third Street, heard the suspect and confronted him shortly after he stole a watch and jewelry belonging to two of her boarders, newspaperman Thomas Cervantes and his wife. Mr. Cervantes was alerted by Mrs. Blackwell's cries of alarm, and together they chased the man out the back door. Mrs. Blackwell wisely gave up the chase once the suspect re-crossed her threshold, but Cervantes followed the man and alerted Township Constable William E. Funkhouser.

Funkhouser, a fifty-year-old, married father of eleven, had been the San Dimas Township constable for several years. But only two months before the break-ins on May 14, he was hired by local business owners to also serve as the town's night watchman. Cervantes climbed into Funkhouser's car, and they drove east, following the suspect's trail to the pumping plant at Cienega Avenue and the Santa Fe railroad tracks.

Cervantes described the suspect as a Mexican man, about twenty-five to thirty years of age, five feet six or seven and one hundred thirty to one hundred forty pounds, with a scar on one side of his face. They spotted the man on the tracks, and Funkhouser got the drop on him, and he threw up his hands in surrender. Funkhouser began to search the suspect with one hand while keeping him covered by holding his revolver in the other. When the constable recovered jewelry taken from Cervantes in one of the suspect's pockets, the man suddenly turned and struck him, sending his gun tumbling about fifteen feet away. The suspect drew a revolver of his own and fired at Funkhouser but missed. Funkhouser closed on his attacker and got one hand on the weapon's barrel. The suspect managed to wrestle his gun away from Funkhouser, cutting the constable's hand with the sight in the process. He then fired one round into the lawman's chest, striking him in the heart and killing him.

Fearing for his own life, Cervantes began to grapple with the suspect for the revolver. He managed to wrest the gun away, but the man refused to submit to Cervantes's command to stop and ran off into the darkness. Cervantes fired two rounds at the suspect as he fled but did not hit him. Cervantes immediately reported the tragedy to Deputy Constable Fairbanks, who notified the Sheriff's office before leading seven other men in pursuit of the suspect. Unfortunately, those tracking the suspect lost his trail on Foothill Boulevard at the base of the mountains.

Sheriff Traeger organized and personally led a posse of two hundred lawmen composed of deputy sheriffs and peace officers from La Verne, Azusa, Glendora, Pomona, Covina, as well as San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. The interest of officers from Riverside County was particularly keen because the circumstances of the assault on Funkhouser seemed similar to those of the shooting of Corona Chief of Police Frank E. Redans six weeks before by a Mexican named Jack Mais. Mais shot Chief Redans in the right breast, right arm, and left thigh, but he survived his wounds.

Later in the day, Constable William I. Hamblin spotted a man roughly matching the suspect's description exiting Dalton Canyon in Azusa. He tried to run from Hamblin, but he cornered and subdued the man in a section house after a hard fight. Due to the circumstances of the man's capture and the general match of his physical description, officers believed they had apprehended Funkhouser's slayer. Constable Hamblin and El Monte Constable Lester C. Burdick took the prisoner to El Monte, where he could be held in the town jail until Cervantes could arrive to make an identification. Unfortunately, Cervantes confidently stated that the man Hamblin arrested was not Funkhouser's slayer. Later, rumors circulated that the suspect might have fled toward Fullerton in Orange County, but a search of this community failed to locate him.

There are things about Cervantes's statement that never added up. Constable Funkhouser was a huge man. It made little sense that he would have difficulty subduing his killer while Cervantes could do so. Cervantes's certainty that the man detained by Constable Burdick was not Funkhouser's killer was also curious. Many believe Cervantes knew more about the details of Funkhouser's murder than he shared.

Constable Funkhouser received laudatory praise from lawmen who knew him. Constable Alex B. Chambers of Pomona said, "Funkhouser did not know what fear was." Funkhouser told one Pomona police officer shortly before his death, "What's the use to fear if one goes into this business he should expect to take all the chances that come his way. Before accepting such a position, a man [should] get ready to die with his boots on. But I don't figure criminals brave – they are all cowards, and why fear cowards."

Together with an official letter of condolence from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Constable Funkhouser's widow received ninety-five percent of his salary for three years totaling $3,420. Unfortunately, Funkhouser's murderer escaped justice. Jack Mais, the man wanted in the assault on Corona Chief Redans, was cleared of involvement in the case.

William Funkhouser and his wife Lillie were married in Hershey, Nebraska, on January 30, 1896. Together they had eleven children. Unfortunately, one son died only one week after his birth on August 23, 1915. William, and later Lillie, were buried near him at the La Verne Cemetery. Funkhouser's remaining children: Claire Willard, Evelyn Ann, Grace Della, Glen Morris, Nellie Marguerite, Doris Laverne, Frieda "Fern" Lenore, Jack, Marie Charlotte, and Ruth Elizabeth, survived him.

Sources: Los Angeles Herald, Los Angeles Times, San Dimas Press, LASD

05/12/2023

We Remember and Honor Deputy Steven W. Blair, End of Watch (EOW) May 12, 1995, Gunfire

On May 12, 1995, shortly after 8 p.m., Deputies Stephen Blair and Robert Lyons saw two men walking on the 5200 block of Walnut Avenue in Lynwood. When it appeared one of the two men tossed a firearm into a yard, they slowed their patrol car to question the men. One of the two men stopped as their car pulled to a stop at the curb, but the other kept walking.

Both deputies got out of the car. Deputy Lyons's attention remained focused on the man near their vehicle. He immediately heard gunshots. As he ran for cover, he saw Deputy Blair collapse to the ground. He had been shot in the upper torso but did manage to draw his weapon and fire two shots at his attacker before becoming overcome by his injuries.

Deputy Blair, 31, was taken to nearby Long Beach Memorial Hospital. He died at 9:08 p.m.

Deputies subsequently arrested both suspects. The man who killed Deputy Blair was a career criminal who feared being arrested and sent back to prison on his third strike. He received a first-degree murder conviction in July 1996 and the death penalty.

Deputy Blair, a 10-year veteran of the LASD, was survived by his wife, Dana, and three sons from a previous marriage: Stephen, 11; Joseph, 6; and Michael, 5.

On the twentieth anniversary of his death, Dana left the following post on her husband's ODMP Reflections page:

"My Dear Steve, I cannot believe you have been gone for 20 years today. It seems like yesterday and forever, all at the same time. Not a day goes by that you are not thought of, loved, and missed. I carry you with me in my heart always... I pray for the day we are finally reunited forever...Please watch over us until then... All My Love Forever."

Sources: Daily News, Los Angeles Times, ODMP, LASD

05/12/2023

We Remember and Honor Deputy Jimmie R. Henry, End of Watch (EOW) May 12, 1995, Duty-Related Illness

On June 18, 1984, a Marine pilot died when his F/A-18 Hornet jet fighter crashed on Santa Catalina Island. The downed jet touched off a brush fire that burned over 30 acres of an isolated canyon about five miles west of Avalon and a mile inland from White Cove. Deputy Jimmie R. Henry and two partners responded to the crash site and inhaled smoke from the burning wreckage. A short time later, the Navy ordered the fire department to stay away from the plane. When Navy personnel arrived, they all wore protective suits to avoid exposure to the burning graphite and other classified components used to construct the jet. Unfortunately, Deputy Henry and his partners were not so fortunate.

Due to their exposure to the burning material, all three men developed significant health issues. However, Deputy Henry's proved the most severe, and his health began to deteriorate. He developed pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis, and chronic lung disease, leading to a lung transplant. His ongoing medical issues compelled him to retire on October 25, 1990. In early 1995, he had a lung transplant, but his health continued to decline until he passed away on May 12, 1995, at the UCLA Medical Center. He was 49.

Deputy Henry joined the Sheriff's Department on July 10, 1972. He was survived by his wife, Susan, and son David.

In December 2007, his son David left the following post on his father's ODMP Reflections Page:

"Hey, Dad, just found this place via a friend. Little bit of a jolt after all this time. I miss you. We all miss you. You would be proud of your grandkids - could not ask for better. I'm sorry you never saw them here, but they look like you. The best part of this is teaching them everything you taught me. You have a legacy now and will always be remembered. Many thanks to all those at LASD who finally made this recognition happen. It took a long time, was a lot of work, and you did not have to do it, but you did anyway. We are forever grateful.
Dave Henry and Family,
Proud Son of Deputy Jimmie Henry"

Sources: Los Angeles Times, CPOMF, ODMP, LASD

05/11/2023

We Remember and Honor Deputy Richard B. Hammack, End of Watch (EOW) May 11, 1992, Gunfire

At 9:30 a.m. on May 11, 1992, six LASD narcotic team deputies served a warrant on a mobile home in Palmdale suspected as a site of methamphetamine sales. As part of the entry plan, Deputy Richard B. Hammack was to approach the front door and knock. Other deputies hiding in nearby bushes were then to run inside when the door opened. However, the plan began to fall apart when a woman exited the house and began wrestling with the deputies. Gunshots then began pouring out at them from inside the house.

The deputies returned fire and rushed inside. The gunfire was intense, and deputies retreated as one of them received a minor injury when a bullet knocked his flashlight out of his hand. When the team got outside, they realized Deputy Hammack was not with them. They re-entered the mobile home and discovered him collapsed on the floor near the door to a bedroom with bullet wounds to his neck, face, and upper body. They rushed Hammack via radio car to nearby Palmdale Hospital Medical Center, but he died shortly after arriving.

Upon re-entry, deputies found the suspect shot dead in a bedroom. His wife was the woman who struggled with the deputies as they attempted to enter. Also in the house at the time of the shooting were her elderly father and two small children. They escaped injury. She initially faced a murder charge, but prosecutors later dropped this charge. In February 1993, she pleaded no contest to resisting arrest and received a two-year sentence.

Deputy Hammack, 31, was a seven-and-a-half-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department.

An avid hockey player and motorcycle enthusiast, he was born in Bakersfield and was a long-time resident of the Antelope Valley. Hammack was to be married the following month to Tammy Zeiner. At the time of the shooting, she was at a hospital in the San Fernando Valley, having an ultrasound performed to learn the s*x of their unborn child. The couple’s son, also named Richard, was born later in 1992.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, ODMP, LASD

05/03/2023

We Remember and Honor Deputy Walter W. “Wally” Hannan, Jr., End of Watch (EOW) May 3, 1978, Automobile Accident

On May 3, 1978, Carson Station Deputies Wally Hannan and Ernie Archuleta were responding, Code 3, to an assistance request from another deputy. A vehicle pulled out in front of them, and Deputy Hannan swerved to avoid hitting it. When he did so, he lost control of his radio car, and it struck a metal utility pole. Deputy Hannan died instantly. Deputy Archuleta suffered severe injuries, which eventually forced him to retire medically.

Deputy Hannan died just two days after his 29th birthday. He joined the Sheriff’s Department on March 6, 1972. At the time of his death, he lived in Los Alamitos with his wife, Robin, and two children. In early July 1978, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration gave $50,000 to his family. This money was awarded through the Public Safety Officers Benefit Act.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, LASD

05/02/2023

We Remember and Honor Reserve Deputy Constance "Connie" E. Worland, End of Watch (EOW) May 2, 1981, Gunfire (Accidental)

On May 2, 1981, around 4 p.m., Reserve Deputy Constance Worland and her male partner responded to an "assault with a deadly weapon call" at 6 Ironwood Lane inside the Scottsdale Estates in the city of Carson. As they arrived at the scene, a garage door opened, and Deputy Worland's partner removed the shotgun from its rack and prepared it to fire. However, when the man emerging from the garage proved to be the victim and not the suspect, he returned the shotgun to the rack but did not clear the weapon or return it to the safe position.

The two deputies then drove around the neighborhood, looking for the suspect. When they stopped to continue their search on foot, Deputy Worland's partner asked her if she wanted to take the shotgun. She declined and exited the patrol car. He then removed the shotgun from the rack and heard the loud report of a weapon firing. At first, he thought another deputy or a suspect had fired a shot, but then he saw a pained expression on Deputy Worland's face as she crumpled to the ground.

Deputy Worland, 39, was transported to nearby Harbor-UCLA Medical Center with massive internal bleeding from a shotgun wound in her back. She died in surgery.

During the investigation following Deputy Worland's death, the Department ran numerous tests of the Ithaca Model 37 shotgun that discharged and killed her. These tests showed that almost half the time the weapon was charged and off safe, a blow to the stock of the weapon caused it to fire. Investigators conducted similar tests on other Ithaca Model 37s and Re*****on and Wi******er shotguns; these produced identical results. Ultimately, the Department determined Deputy Worland's death to be a tragic accident.

Connie Worland became a reserve deputy on January 16, 1977, and graduated with Reserve Class 44. On March 13, 1978, the LASD hired her as a Communications Systems Officer (dispatcher) at the Sheriff's Communications Center in East Los Angeles. A plaque honoring her service and sacrifice remains in the main lobby there. She was the first female reserve killed in the line of duty in the United States.

Connie was a single mother, and her three teenage daughters: Elaine, 20, Linda, 17, and Denise, 16, survived her.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, LASD

05/01/2023

We Remember and Honor LASD Detective Raul Vasquez Gama, End of Watch (EOW) May 1, 2007, Automobile Accident

On May 1, 2007, at approximately 8:30 a.m., Detective Raul Gama was working an undercover surveillance operation involving stolen cellular phones inside a parked van on Oxnard Street in North Hollywood as part of this operation. A teenage driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the parked van, critically injuring Detective Gama. Paramedics transported him to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, where he succumbed to his injuries. He died the day after his 20-year anniversary as a member of the Sheriff’s Department.

At the time of the accident, officers arrested the young driver on suspicion of drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter. However, subsequent tests revealed he had no impairment. As a result, no charges were filed against him.

Four years before Detective Gama’s tragic death, around noon on June 20, 2003, 31 Union Pacific railroad cars broke loose during a switching maneuver in Montclair. They then rolled some 27 miles into Los Angeles before railroad personnel managed to switch them onto a sidetrack in the City of Commerce; this caused 18 of the cars to derail. Some of these cars crashed into nearby homes. Detective Gama rescued a family trapped in the debris despite leaking natural gas and sparking from downed power lines. For this act of heroism, he received the Department’s Medal of Valor.

Detective Gama, 43, was survived by his wife, Sandra, and four children. Over 3,000 mourners attended his funeral. A short time before his death, he told his wife about his career, “If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I love what I do.”

Sources: Daily News, Daily Breeze, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Los Angeles Times, LASD

04/29/2023

We Remember and Honor Deputy David W. March, End of Watch (EOW) April 29, 2002, Gunfire

On April 29, 2002, at approximately 10:30 a.m., Temple Station Deputy David March stopped a vehicle on Live Oak Avenue just east of Peck Road in Irwindale for an apparent traffic violation. Unknown to Deputy March, the vehicle was recently stolen. The driver exited the vehicle and approached Deputy March as he approached the car. Halfway between the vehicles, the suspect withdrew a handgun and shot March several times before he could draw his weapon. The shooter then jumped back in the car and fled.

An engineer at a nearby concrete plant heard five gunshots and ran out onto the street. He saw Deputy March stretched out on the pavement with his head resting against the curb. A truck driver at the plant then ran to March's vehicle, grabbed the radio microphone, and announced, "A deputy's been shot!" According to the first witness, one of the first officers on the scene gave Deputy March mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but when it appeared fruitless, he got up and kicked his car in frustration.

Deputy March's killer was quickly identified but fled to Mexico. In February 2006, he was arrested and returned to the United States. In March 2007, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole.

Deputy Dave March, 33, a seven-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department at the time of his murder, was survived by his wife, Teri, and 12-year-old stepdaughter, Kayla.

The week before his death, Dave wrote the following in an email in response to a request for input on his annual evaluation, "My goals are simple, I will always be painfully honest, work as hard as I can, learn as much as I can and hopefully make a difference in people's lives." This statement has become the creed of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

Every year on the anniversary of Deputy March's death, deputies from Temple Sheriff's Station stand a twenty-four-hour vigil at the memorial in Irwindale where he died.

Sources: Daily News, Los Angeles Times, LASD

04/20/2023

We Remember and Honor Deputy George Barthel, End of Watch (EOW) April 19, 1979, Gunfire

On the evening of April 19, 1979, Special Enforcement Bureau Deputies George Barthel and Jimmy Hollingsworth were working saturation patrol in the Lynwood Station area. They entered the Nickerson Gardens housing project in Willowbrook and contacted a group of five men after seeing them toss what appeared to be P*P into the bushes. As the deputies exited their vehicle, a man armed with a rifle ambushed them. Hollingsworth was wounded in the face and side by fragments from one of the first shots fired. As he reached for his revolver, he heard a second shot and saw Barthel bleeding. Hollingsworth heard three more shots and tried to shield Barthel with his body. Before Hollingsworth or Barthel could return fire, the suspects ran off in all directions.

Like Hollingsworth, bullets also struck Barthel in the face and side, but his wounds were more serious. He died two hours later in surgery at nearby St. Francis Hospital.

Within days after the shooting, detectives arrested four suspects. In November 1980, a jury convicted Deputy Barthel's killer of first-degree murder. The following January, he received a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole.

Deputy Barthel was survived by his wife, Mary, and two children; son Edwin, 7, and daughter, Camiel, 2.

Sometime after the shooting, Deputy Hollingsworth gave a candid interview to television reporter Wayne Satz speaking about the night of Deputy Barthel's murder and his own experiences as a peace officer. It is a riveting account of the toll the loss of a peace officer had on his partner and friend. Deputy Barthel and Hollingsworth served in Vietnam, and even among other members of SEB, were considered among the elite SWAT officers in California.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, Herald Examiner, KABC, LASD

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