HomeMy WebLinkAbout1909 - 1989 Huntington Beach Police Department - The First 8 (2) t,
;
� I
„ P
i
i w
— a a
Si
kY
-grr�1
i
P �
MV l
m
F s
1
y•
� J i i►thtt � +�;+
l,. T
d
1
9
h;
rl
u
I
ON THE COVER.
The oil boom is in full swing as
George Gelzer checks the area of
18th Street.
° The First 80 Years"
History of the
HUNTINGTON BEACH
POLICE DEPARTMENT
FOREWORD
The Huntington Beach Police Department has served the
community for more than 80 years. The men and women who
have worn the uniform and badge of the Department have done
so honorably. They have contributed much to the community,
given of themselves unselfishly, and done an outstanding job in
providing professional law enforcement to the people of
Huntington Beach.
Through everyone's efforts we have achieved a great deal, and
I am proud to have been a part of it for 30 years.
This historical account is dedicated to all who have served in
the Huntington Beach Police Department, and especially to
Officers Le Roy Darst and Les Prince, who lost their lives in the
line of duty.
GLr
G. L. PAYNE
Chief of Police
Chapter I: Development of The City
The history of a police
department is a story. It is a story � � �t " ��
,
p� a li t _ n � Pt A �t
about the need of the people in the
community or protection and about
the need for someone to control human
-
conduct when that conduct infringes g
on the rights of others. It is a story
about the people who work at the
police department, about their deeds
and actions, their achievements, and ' -
their disappointments as they relate to -
the events of the community. It is also n
_ ;}4
a story that is filled with success and
tragedy and will continue to be as such
for as long as there are police.
The history of the City of
Huntington Beach and its development .a
can be divided into three separate
economies, each having its own law
enforcement needs and its own
S �
influence on the culture of the city.
�� ' ?�� �' - �i � al `�
One such economy consisted of the `-� ,t �i i
4: T
agriculture element of the community � ' '"' �
which required little formal police •-- -�= "
.P
service. The second economy consisted Holly Sugar Plant during construction.
of the resort element of the Originally settled by the Spanish as a Aside from the downtown area,
community which struggled to take part of Mexico, the first ownership of good farmland was formed by the
advantage of the untapped natural the land can be traced to Don Abel yearly uncontrolled flooding of the
resources. The third economy which Stearns who sold large portions of his Santa Ana River. Level upon level of
developed a little later than the first holdings during the years from 1850 sediment, silt and sand was deposited
two consisted of developing precious to 1869. The area we now know to be annually contributing to new plant
minerals found under the community... the downtown area of Huntington growth which would rot between the
OIL! The oil rush in many respects Beach was acquired by Bob Northam, flood periods and result in rich soil
had the same damaging effect as the the general manager of the Stearns allowing record crops to be produced
earlier gold rush and created a very Ranch at that time. The area was in the Huntington Beach area.
great need for police service. considered to be of little value for Newly acquired farm land usually
Like most of California, the farming, as were other Stearns Ranch needed water drainage to send the
Huntington Beach area was first holdings that were being sold at the Santa Ana River back into its
developed as an agricultural area. time. embankments. This was done by using
clay tiles which were supplied by one
' _ nry
of the city s earliest industrials the
La Bolsa Tile Co. which was officially
created in 1905 at what is now the
intersection of Ellis and Gothard.
e The farming production also created
d ' new industrial needs. Due to the large
ya�. sugar beet crop in the area, the Holly
Sugar Co. was formed and located at
a mill near the tile company. The old
Holly building stood near the
intersection of Main, Gothard and
Garfield streets until its demolition in
January, 1986.
La Bolsa Tile Factory. Although the primary concern of
1
acquistion was along the beach front. serving railway customers as close as
� ^ The Stanton group intended to make Long Beach. The Huntington
the area into a beach resort similar to syndicate formed the Huntington
` Atlantic City on the eastern seaboard. Beach Company for developing the
e They called their new town, "Pacific commercial potential of the city. The
City"
Cit " and began grading streets and name of the city was changed to
subdividing the land. All this effort Huntington Beach in honor of Mr.
_ was doomed to failure though as the Huntington, and by 1904 the city was
� lack of transportation from the more beginning to take shape. The pier was
populated areas to the new built, the Pacific Electric Railway was
development resulted in the arrival of extended into the city, a telephone
I very few people to purchase lots. system was installed and operated
The Stanton group sold its holdings from 6:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., a park
' to a syndicate headed by Henry was built, and all utilities, including
Huntington, owner of the Pacific water and electricity, were completed
Electric Railway which was then and maintained by the Huntington
W, Beach Company.
The year 1904 also saw the
a "SO
IGZbeginning of a structured legal system
in the area. Judge J. W. Shirley, a
justice of the peace, was appointed to
preside over an area which covered
t approximately the present day
75
Huntington Beach city limits. The first
i �George Reynolds. form of law enforcement for the city
, � ` took the form of Township
this report is not to show industrial ( � ,- Constables. Beginning in 1904, the
development, it is important to show n� '� earliest constables included George
how early development brought Reynolds, R. H. Winslow, Ervin L.
people into the area, perpetuating -n Vincent, C. F. Sorensen, and Jake
further development which increased Reed who patrolled the city streets on
the need for police service. a bicycle.
The development of industry in the The streets at that time were all dirt,
area helped end the isolation of and the whole city was composed of
Huntington Beach. Prior to 1895, the Jake Reed. no more than two square miles.
nearest railroad was the Southern �; � rI �
Pacific line in Santa Ana. All produce te
s � { a ;�
had to be shipped to Santa Ana by 7,, "
r
horse drawn wagon. In 1895, the
Southern Pacific extended a line into
Huntington Beach connecting the ,, =
Wintersburg produce areas, now
Warner and Gothard, the La Bolsa
Tile Co., and the Holly Sugar plant _
i-
with Santa Ana. _
It was not until 1901 that the
downtown area began to develop.
Prior to this year, the only
transportation to the Huntington
Beach area was by horse and buggy.
The Southern Pacific Railway
transported only freight, and that only
as far south as what is now Main
Street and Garfield Avenue. But
despite this lack of transportation, a �.
group of enterprising promoters, ' , s
headed by Phillip Stanton, purchased
1,500 acres of land from Bob �� -- -. - - .r _. .r•_ ,-- -` ,- ,- e. . a
Northam. Forty acres of this Holly Sugar Plant.
2
g
- ��, � �ni� � 'ui, a,�� .: Ali �"i 16 �i I'��-� ��) ��• �- iir���i �3�,
Constable Reed's patrol was
maintained during the daylight hours
only and his workload was question-
HIM
able. There are no records available
showing the types of crimes which he
faced or the frequency that these '
q Y
crimes may have occurred, but the
City of Huntington Beach, in 1904 _
through 1921, was being advertised as
having a very high moral standard.
The sale of any alcoholic beverage
was prohibited, no gambling was
permitted, and the town was being
developed as a family-type resort and ° r
a retirement community.
By April, 1908, the city had a jail
which was located on the alley south The Town Constable works out of the City Hall and the City Jail is in the alley across the
street. (City Hall and Post Office are on right side of photograph.)Feb. 1909.
of Walnut between Third and Main
Streets, across the street from City from the beach to Palm Avenue. The 4.7 square miles. The city borders now
Hall. The jail was a 15' x 15' wood town's population was 815 people. consisted of Clay Avenue on the
structure and the door faced the alley. The year 1909 brought several north, the waterfront on the south,
It was used for housing the routine changes to Huntington Beach law what is now Beach Boulevard on the
prisoners such as drunks, vagrants, and enforcement. On February 17, 1909, east and 23rd Street on the west.
panhandlers, however, it is unknown the City of Huntington Beach was On May 6, 1912, Marshal
how much use it got. It was not a very incorporated and the Board of Sorensen's reappointment became due
secure facility but generally served Trustees immediately appointed the and the Board of Trustees accepted
the purposes of the time. When a first City Marshal. Edmund C. Wright applications for the position. Four
secure jail was needed, the town was the first to be appointed, and people applied for the position,
constable had to go to the County during his first week in office he including Jake Reed, O. Davis, Ervin
Courthouse near Sixth Street and reported to the Board of Trustees that L. Vincent, and Marshal Sorensen.
Sycamore Avenue in Santa Ana. Due he had no key to the city hall and that Their applications were read,
to the poor or nonexistent road it was not fit for use. In April, Marshal recorded, and put on file at which
conditions, such a horse and buggy Wright was declared Street time the Board began discussions on
trip would have taken a full day. Superintendent and two months later how best to fill the position. A motion
The city constable patrolled the city on June 28, 1909, A. G. Boone was was made to reappoint Marshal
on foot and by bicycle and watched appointed Deputy Marshal. A. G. Sorensen by Mayor Ed Manning and
the city and its population grow. By Boone was a local businessman who seconded by Ed French. The motion
1909, the city boundaries were from operated a tailor shop at 323 Ocean was defeated by a 3-2 vote. Trustee
1st to 23rd Streets, which is now Avenue. Advertisements of the day Helme then moved that the Board
known as Goldenwest Street, and show that he would make a suit for as proceed to elect a Marshal by ballot
little as $15.00. and this died for lack of a second. At
On April 18, 1910, Resolution 105 this point,.Rosenburger moved that
was adopted by the Board of Trustees Ervin L. Vincent be appointed
which declared all appointive offices Marshal and was seconded by Helme.
�r in the city to be vacant. As such, The motion carried 3-2 with Seely
Marshal Wright was removed from, joining Rosenburger and Helme while
i� office and replaced by C. F. Sorensen, Manning and French dissented. On
" who in addition to being appointed May 9, 1912, Ervin L. Vincent was
City Marshal was also appointed to sworn in as the third Huntington
the positions of Pound Master and Beach City Marshal. Marshal Vincent
City Health Officer. After serving as. owned andoperated the Corner
Marshal, Edmund Wright remained in Confectionary, a business at the corner
q Huntington Beach_and opened a real of Main Street and Ocean Avenue..
estate business. The new appointment was a very
Marshal Sorensen's duties consisted controversial thing and resulted in'all
q mainly of upholding the social of the appointed City officials
responsibilities provided by the job resigning. This was just the beginning
and pedaling his bicycle around the of Marshal Vincent's troubles. In June,
An original Deputy Marshal badge. city limits, which had now grown to 1912, the Board of Trustees received
3
information that games of chance were $77.25 a month. However, only five
being playedoand three months later, months later in January, 1914,
on September 30, 1912, a motion was Marshal Vincent offered his � �m� �
made for the fire and police committee resignation effective February 1, 1914. �
to investigate charges of neglect of Faced with the prospect of
g g g P P
duty by the police department. By replacing the City Marshal, the town
October 7, 1912, things had grown fathers did not sit idly by. They T 'w k
progressively worse to the point that a contacted Jack Tinsley, who at that _
meeting was held in which a motion time was the Fire Chief of Rocky
was offered, recommending that a Ford, Colorado, and asked him to
straw vote be taken on November 4, apply for the job, and he did. He wasz ���
1912 to see if the residents of the city not the only person interested in the -
A,
favored retaining Marshal Vincent. job however. The Board of Trustees
The motion carried, however, later accepted applications from four others
p Pp �A
that month the date of the vote was as well. G. W. Pulley, T. L.
changed to November 19, 1912 and a Cockermum, S. T. Hunt, T. L. Brown, .
motion to drop the vote did not carry. and Eugene Davis, who was a
There is no indication in the Board of constable, rounded out the field. The
Trustees minutes whether or not the Board voted and Tinsley received
vote took place and ultimately things three votes, with Davis and Hunt
calmed down for Marshal Vincent. receiving one vote each. A motion was
On June 2, 1913, Marshal Vincent then made to make the vote
received some assistance when J. L. unanimous, which was carried, and u¢
Rodman was appointed as a Regular Jack Tinsley was appointed the fourth '
Deputy City Marshal. In August, he City Marshal on February 4, 1914, at
was allowed to hire some additional $75.00 a month. Chief Jack Tinsley.
help on a part-time basis in the form By 1914, the police department had heating or ventilation.
of a Deputy City Marshal. G. S. a new jail. The jail was located behind The jail building is still in existence
Bundschuk was appointed at $1.00 City Hall on Fifth Street between today and has been used for a variety
per day during the Grand Army of the Olive and Walnut Avenues. It was a of things over the years, including a
Republic and socialist meetings. brick building, approximately 12' x shelter for runaway juveniles and
Things seemed to be going better for 12' with a sliding steel cased door. The indigent transients, and most recently
Marshal Vincent who was making building had a stone floor with no as a storage site.
'77'` ,. _=xg ;""' "nFi�; "h"�'�"' � ��� I 4k
401-
,'" tui IItl h .( t5
AN
a
r
r
4
wi ' gti4�
''i'. ur
The Corner Confectionary, owned and operated by Ervin L. Vincent, the Town Marshal.
4
Being the City Marshal meant that
you were sometimes the only law
enforcement officer in the city and '
Marshal Tinsley's first two months =x
were no exception. Finally, on April 9, °
o _
1914, he requested and got the
appointment of J. W. Walker as a _ 110-
Deputy Marshal. Although the new � 'M
ail was more secure than the previous
one it had some of the same traits. In
f
August, 1914, Marshal Tinsleyc p "
reported to the Board of Trustees that ,
the jail was unsanitary. r
In April, 1916, Marshal Tinsley was
nominated for reappointment and e
elected by the Board of Trustees for r � '
another term by unanimous vote. The
V� _
crime problems continued status quo
until 1916 when Tinsley was granted
approval to employee a Deputy as a
Patrolman in the downtown area due
to the merchants asking for some
protection against the large Mexican ��
population that had recently come to
the area. There is no further s,
explanation of this in the Board of -
Trustees Minutes other than a � d
reference to the unsettled condition _
between the two countries. The `
Marshal's job performance was satis-
factory because in March, 1917,he
got a pay raise to$90.00 a month.
Although the city's governing body
was satisfied that the law enforcement
scene was well in hand and Marshal
Tinsley still had Deputy J. W. Walker
on the payroll, a group of local <�
citizens formed a volunteer police The Fifth Street Jail.
group called the Home Guards and
the Marshal was authorized to buy instance the Marshal was asked to
$100 worth of ammunition for them. The job of City Marshal still hold over and serve at the pleasure of
In all, 40 people were incarcerated in required the wearing of many hats and the Board. On June 3, 1918, Marshal
1917 and the names of those Marshal Tinsley's included that of Tinsley received a two-week leave of
responsible for their incarceration Pound Master. In January, 1918, the absence for a vacation and Gayle
include Jack Tinsley, Gayle Bergey, Marshal was instrumental in the Bergey was appointed as a Deputy
Eugene Davis, and a local man passing of a dog licensing law City Marshal making $13.00 a month.
identified only by his last name of Hall. necessitated by the fact that during the Bergey had been employed as a
_4 Wnprevious six month period, he had to Constable as early as 1917 when his
previous shoot 30 stray dogs. In an effort to name first appears in the arrest ledger.
shoot improve things, the Marshal asked for By the end of the year, the city's
sw,"'r _ ate a�8
a pound to be built and for an electric population had increased to about
" light to be installed in the jail. 1,500 people. Marshal Tinsley was
In April, 1918, an election for the now making $100 a month and now
' : Board of Trustees was held and Ed had four assistants to help him
French, who had been a member of dispense the enforcement of laws in
f the Board, was elected Chairman. As that day. Their names, Iman, Hines,
was typical of changes in the Board, Bergey and Taylor, appeared
This building served as the Police resignations were asked of many of the frequently in the jail booking ledgers
Department jail from about 1914-1924. appointed positions, however, in this as 43 arrests were made that year,
5
men for the position of Marshal. The working in the coal mines of Western
remaining four Trustees voted and Arkansas and worked for a number of
appointed him Marshal and Super- mining concerns. In December, 1900,
' intendent of Streets at which time he relocated to Orange County and
Marshal French resigned as a member held a number of jobs, including
of the Board of Trustees. Marshal Ranching, being a Stationary Engineer
French was born July 9, 1863, in at the La Bolsa Tile Works and
Douglas County, Illinois. As a young operating a tractor ditching machine.
man he learned the trade of carpentry, In 1917, he moved to Huntington
_ however decided to work for the Beach and operated his own tractor
railroad which he did for 16 years, and ditch digging business until his
starting as a Brakeman and working appointment as City Marshal. In
., his way up to Conductor. About addition to being the Marshal, he also
1900, he moved to Carroll County, assumed the duties of Street
Arkansas where he became a Rancher, Superintendent, Pound Master, and
and in 1906, relocated to Huntington Truant Officer.
1 Beach to become one of its pioneer On July 23, 1920, Marshal Taylor
residents. He entered the contracting was given a used Ford Roadster,
. " business and was quite successful. He which served as the first police car.
- served as a member of the Board of The Board of Trustees examined
Marshal Eugene French. Trustees from 1910 to 1916 and as a information as to the need for hiring a
Chairman of the Board for three years Night Watchman and in December,
mostly for possession of alcohol, prior to his appointment as Marshal. authorized the Marshal to hire one.
which was still illegal in Huntington In his first month as Marshal and The population had increased to more
Beach at that time, drunkenness, Street Superintendent, he was also than 1,600 with the start of the oil
fighting and vagrancy. The telephone appointed as Chief of the fire boom,but even with the increased
service was now on a 24-hour per day department and immediately population and the new police car, the
basis, and the City Council was reorganized the volunteer department. jail register showed only eight arrests
beginning to concern themselves with In April, 1919, Marshal French got for the year.
automobiles and traffic problems. In some additional help when C. J. In March, 1921, Marshal Taylor
that year, an Ordinance was passed Andrews and Jake Reed were announced his resignation to be
making it a crime to possess a car with appointed as Deputy Marshals. The effective on April 1. In an agreement
the identification numbers removed. Marshal was paid $100 a month and with the Board of Trustees, he was to
The city also sent $25.00 to the State the deputies about$40. In June, 1919, remain as an employee of the
Traffic Officers' Association to assist Deputy Marshal C. J. Andrews was department for 15 days as a Special
in creating a lobby to get uniform appointed as a Trustee and was moved Policeman. After leaving the
traffic laws for the State of California. to the Fire and Police Committee in department, he opened a garage where
A highway had been built going to August. In November, the Marshal's he became known as one of the best
various parts of Orange County and a salary was raised to $125.00, however, mechanics in the area. His first garage
train ride from Huntington Beach to Marshal French soon left the city he was facing the alley south of Fifth
Los Angeles now took only about 50 had called home for 20 years. The Street between Lake and Main
minutes. We were becoming a mobile year 1919 was not a busy year for Streets. •
community. Huntington Beach law enforcement.
In January, 1919, the Marshal was The jail register shows that only six `
made Street Superintendent and the people were arrested.
politics of the day entered the picture. On March 12, 1920, Sheriff Calvin =a
A group of the Marshal's supporters E. Jackson appointed Marshal French °=
wanted him to mount a campaign and to the position of Under-Sheriff of3 It v- '
run for Sheriff with their backing. In Orange County where he served fora
an effort to end the controversy, number of years. F
Marshal Tinsley resigned in February, The Board of Trustees again
1919, and moved his family to Lone accepted applications for the position ,
Pine, California, where he farmed and of City Marshal and after meeting in
worked for the railroad as a an executive session, appointed
Timekeeper. George M. Taylor as the fifth City `'
On February, 3, 1919, Eugene E. Marshal.
French, who was the President of the Marshal Taylor was born near i
Board of Trustees, submitted his Ozark, Arkansas on December 8,
application along with seven other 1883. At 12 years of age, he began George and Rhoda Taylor in 1909.
6
Chapter 2: There's Oil in Them Hills!
There was a lot happening in k k M {jk
Huntington Beach in April, 1921. Oil + i
had been discovered in Au ust o th
f e „ �
qx f q } {
g m < Rt
previous year and drilling hadv �
continued The town whose original
50
planners had hoped would become ,another Atlantic City was on the verge
of becoming an oil boom town. As
people continued to arrive and drill for
oil,prosperity flourished and the town
experienced a rapid growth. These "
things, along with prohibition, resulted
in law enforcement problems with, *
1=.
which the city fathers were concerned,
and on April 1, 1921, Jack Tinsley
was appointed City Marshal for the
second time. si v
The oil boom brought with it " gym r
people who were in a hurry to makea �
fortune,and in so doing, disregarded
the traffic and speed laws. Marshal A 4-cylinder Henderson motorcycle like the ones ridden by Carl Malchow and Conrad
Tinsley was authorized to hire a Worthy.
"Speed Cop" and a special policeman department. By year's end more than Perry Ballard was appointed as a
to take care of conditions in the city. 300 people had been arrested for police officer. Bootlegging, gambling,
In June, 1921, the Board of Trustees offenses that included drinking, vagrancy and a host of other crimes
adopted an ordinance which changed gambling, child stealing and kept the officers busy, and driving
the Marshal's title to that of Police bootlegging. about on the town roads to enforce
Chief and authorized him to hire The year 1922 saw the police the law was hard on the only police
another officer due to the rapid department continuing to contend car they had. Also, by November the
growth of the city and to purchase a with an oil boom town. Providing law Chief sought to replace his Dodge
touring car. enforcement was not without its Touring which was in bad shape and
Chief Tinsley reorganized the hazards however. Motor Officer Carl Motor Officer Conrad Worthy left the
department which now had Patrolmen Malchow, upon the recommendation department to take up ranching.
J. H. Iman, W. M. Hines, and George of Chief Tinsley, was permanently
Coleman making $150.00 a month, suspended in January, the same month
and Motor Patrolman Carl Malchow that the Chief resigned his duties as
receiving $170.00. Officer Malchow Street Superintendent. Malchow was
had to furnish his own motorcycle replaced by Conrad E. Worthy who
which was a four cylinder Henderson. became the City's second motor
P�a
In July, the department got a 1921 officer. Being free of his Street
Dodge touring car with regular Superintendent duties gave the Chief
equipment, which was purchased from more time to devote to his law ` w
the T. B. Talbert Company for enforcement responsibilities, and by
$1,190.00. March he had received authorization
In addition to his duties as Chief of from the Board of Trustees to secure a � -r
Police and Street Superintendent, list of all the automobile registrations
Chief Tinsley was also assigned to be of city.residents. Chief Tinsley kept a
the Fire Chief and to hire lifeguards as meticulous notebook and was able to b°
needed. recall nearly every license number and
In August, Patrolman J. L. Stanton to whom it belonged.
was hired to replace J. H. Iman who In April, Officer Hines resigned and
died, and a request by the Police Chief Rowley Choat was appointed to take
for a raise was placed on file. Things his place. The police department
were getting busier for the five-man continued to grow and on November 1, Conrad Worthy.
7
Roy Ballard was appointed as a Tinsley, from 1923 to 1927, saw
motor patrolman at $175.00 and the ` many changes in the city and the
department stayed busy. The year police department due to the oil boom
closed with the city getting a taste of which was in full swing. The
things to come when George , + population of the city boomed up to
Coleman, a 31-year-old oil worker, 7,750 people and the housing shortage
appeared before the Board of Trustees l ;- "'°" �� reached a point where people were .
to prefer charges against Officer Perry living in cardboard shacks and tents.
Ballard who had arrested him for The quest for oil was so great that
being drunk. even existing housing was removed at
The jail register showed 453 arrests times for oil drilling.
in 1922, which was up from the year By the end of 1923, Chief Tinsley
before. But things would get very busy had nine officers on the payroll and
in 1923. - needed every one of them. With the
In the early 1920's, the police � ° oil boom going full bore, there was a
officers worked seven days a week and lot to do. All in all, 1,779 people felt
the town was moving toward the long arm of the law that year and
becoming wide open. Prostitution, ended up in jail.
gambling and bootlegging all I L` 'hoa The mid 20's were a continuing
contributed to the atmosphere of Rowley Choat. time of change and development. In
"anything goes." The police were very completed and the department moved October, 1924, Chief Tinsley had
busy breaking up gambling games and in. eight officers on the department,
illegal stills, as well as dealing with the The second term of office of Chief including brothers John and Bill
increase in the population that had
come to get a piece of the oil boom
action.
Chief Tinsley recognized that to get
and keep good police officers, they
had to be paid accordingly and he �� F
convinced the Board of Trustees that ,
longevity and good work should be
rewarded. He established a monthly
salary scale so that first year officers
would receive $150.00, second year
officers$165.00, and third year ,
$175.00. By April, 1923, Chief
Tinsley had made substantial changes
in the department's personnel. The
i
permanent suspension given to Officer r
George Coleman in November, 1922, E
was rescinded and the department
now had a new look. Eleven menu
worked as police officers at one time
or another during the first four months u � .
of the year and included Chief Tinsley, � _ � �
George Coleman, James A. Randel, ,' ��
Charles Steward, Perry Ballard, Gayle ` ti
Bergey, John L. Stanton, Roy Ballard, '
Rowley Choat, William Stanton, "
Alvin E. Bannister and Ray Bradfield, y
who was a motor patrolman making
$165.00 a month.
By July, 1923, Chief Tinsley was
given a $50.00 raise to compensate
him for his Fire Chief duties. The ,
same year brought a big event for not
onlythe police department but the city
' �_,
as well. The new City Hall at Fifth During prohibition, stills were common. Chief Tinsley put this one, which was operating
Street and Orange Avenue was downtown, out of business.
8
,^jiE 'ji" :�,. , ki 2 k�,..5 '�g�ih y,
n N"� itni lulu
§af «ki
—dam€ � � �1 ! .i
h : a.,
'u
a7R
r
�'ta4
�+ t
xa. _
n
The building of city hall. Circa 1924..
Stanton, Alvin E. Bannister, who was Many new demands were placed on housing at a premium, people took to
the Chiefs brother-in-law, George the police department because of the the beach to live in tents which
Coleman, Rowley Choat, Elmer population influx and the new traffic became such a problem that the Chief
Parker, D. H. Westmoreland, and problems created by a major highway. had to post signs prohibiting the use of
Motor Patrolman Ray Bradfield. In The year 1925 brought one new closed tents.
December, Kittie E. Sager, who is addition to the police department. In Policing the oil boom town
believed to be the department's first July, R. L. Martindale was hired as a involved patrolling by foot, bicycle,
female employee,joined the police officer to replace the regular motorcycle, and car. The roads were
department as the first matron and officers who went on vacation. With not the best and this resulted in a lot
desk sergeant. The officers patrolled
both day and night and found'
themselves in need of a better car for
the night patrol. In an effort to meet '_
the needs of several city departments,
yYi ¢
the City Engineer agreed to turn his rz ,
city-supplied Buick Touring car to the
police department and use his own car �
for $40.00 a month. The Ford is
Touring car then in use would be
given to the Street Department to
replace its worn out car. Everyone
agreed and out of this cooperative "
effort the department ended up with a
better car. The timing could not have p
been better, for in 1925, Pacific Coast _
Highway was built which made beach ` "
access much easier and connected
Newport Beach, Huntington Beach ��
and Long Beach. Kittie E. Sager. Sager's Badge.
9
of wear and tear on the equipment. Matron and Desk Sergeant Kittie was offered in July, was accepted and
Replacements could be purchased for Sager, and Policemen John and Bill he was appointed Assistant Chief
a price that was very reasonable by Stanton and Alvin Bannister. All were earning $225.00 a month. During this
today's standards. In 1926, for given severance pay and John Stanton turbulent eight-month period, E. A.
example, the department replaced its later joined the Tustin Police Shaffer, La Verne Keller, and Fred
. $ Department eventually serving as its Berdelman were appointed as
Chief of Police. Patrolmen; Wayne Wood, Vern
Rowley "Tex" Choat was Mohn, and George Kesterson were
appointed as the Chief of Police and reinstated and George Coleman was
k given the task of rebuilding the reappointed as a Patrolman.
department. By the end of the year, he
I
µ� had hired Hannah Horwitz as Police F �
` x Matron, C L. Mitchell as the Motor `
5
Patrolman, and Officers C. E. Arnold,m=
C. M. Wood G. W. Cox G. E.
Kesterson, I. H. Westmoreland, and Z�a
- W. L. Evans as Patrolmen. The year
1928 proved to be one of turmoil and
tragedy for the department. It started
well with the newly-called City
P ., Council granting the police }'
department a six-day work week after
Elmer Parker.
Henderson motorcycle for$285.00
plus the old bike in use. The public
was also sometimes appreciative of the _ 0
department and sent letters of
commendation. Traffic Officer Vern
Mohn received one which was
published in the local paper. The Chief
was still trying to better the working41
,
conditions for his officers and W. H. Stanton
approached the Board of Trustees with
a request to allow the police officers
two days off each month. He was
turned down which might have been a =
signal that all was not well in the city.
In the late 20 s, the town was wide
open despite the efforts of the police � � fir. p
department. As many young men "` �� liv,
r
continued to pour into the town
during the oil boom years, the
problems evident in earlier times
Bann lei
continued. Prostitution,gambling, and s" �`° a 4
bootlegging were virtually unchecked. Alvin Bannister.
Wayne Y. Wood was hired as a police
officer but the efforts of the hearing assurance from Chief Choat
department were not satisifactory to that the service provided by the
the Board of Trustees, and in 1927 department would not suffer..Chief
things came to a head for Chief Choat served as the department head
Tinsley. His continuing efforts to for eight months and during this time
secure a day off per week for the a new council was elected and as was
police officers went unrewarded, and typical of the time, appointed officials
in November, the Board of Trustees, who served at the pleasure of the
in a specially called meeting, sought council offered their resignations. The
the resignation of Chief Tinsley, Chief's first two letters of resignation
Traffic Officer Elmer Parker, Police were denied, however his third, which John Stanton.
10
z
t ,
a
w
m
_ aA
a
e
n.
rt
Officer Le Roy Darst and his wife, Helen,pose for a family photo with their children(from left) Clifford and Margaret Lockhart, and
standing on the running boards are Bonnie and Jacqueline Darst. Officer Darst is the first Huntington Beach Police Officer to die in the line
of duty.
Upon Chief Choat's resignation, On October 12, 1928, a rainy and collided with an oncoming car.
Charles Steward was appointed Chief Friday morning, Officer W. L. Evans, Officer Darst was knocked
on July 31, 1928 at $275.00 a month. a 10-month member of the force, and unconscious and received a fractured
Chief Steward had been serving as Le Roy Darst, with less than a week skull. Although immediately attended
Assistant Chief of Police in Whittier in police work, were driving south on to by Dr. R. E. Hawes, who lived
when he accepted the Huntington Main Street approaching Crest on nearby and who heard the crash,
Beach job. He had also served on the their way to investigate a traffic Officer.Darst died shortly after
department in 1923. Chief Steward accident that had been reported on midnight, thus becoming the first
brought 40 years of law enforcement 17th Street. The first rain of the season Huntington Beach Police Officer to
experience to the department having made driving treacherous,.and as die in the line of duty. Officer Darst
served as a police officer, the Sheriff in Officer Evans applied the brakes,the was held in high regard by all who
a Colorado County where he chased police car swerved across the street knew him and is buried at
horse thieves, and as a special agent Westminster Memorial Park.
and detective for the Santa Fey October 22, 1928 marked the first
Railroad Company. Chief Steward association of George Gelzer with the
wasted little time organizing the _ ,4 department. Gelzer, who would
department. He sought and received become Chief six years later, was
Assistant Chief Choat's resignation, appointed as a Special Officer at $5.00
and hired A. J. Parker and Eugene a day. On March 4, 1929 George
Belshe, who had been a lifeguard for z . ' Gelzer was appointed as a Patrolman,
the past five months, as Patrolmen. IAand one week later Motor Officer
Little did anyone know that the first Shaffer crashed on his motorcycle and
serious tragedy for the police received serious injuries. He recovered
department was just around the from his injuries, returned to work and
corner. Chief Charles Steward was appointed Acting Chief in 1930
11
to replace a vacationing Chief was given to the qualifications a police McFarland on July 8, and Ira C. Stout
Steward. officer should have. on September 3. Four months later
Considering that the Huntington The year 1929 also worked the Chief Steward, in an effort to reduce
Beach Police Department had been initial association between the the department by one, retired.Officer
utilizing motor officers for eight years department and another future Chief. Stout. •
without any organized training or On March 18, Howard Robidoux was
safety equipment, riding on unpaved appointed as a Patrolman to succeed
roads among hundreds of unskilled Gene Belshe, who returned to the
and unlicensed drivers this period of lifeguard department. Belshe, who was
safe driving is notable. a former Navy freestyle swimming
The common practice of police champion, would go on to have a
hiring during the era, and even late distinguished career with the lifeguard
into the 1950's, was that of appointing department and become its Chief
people from within the community before joining the fire department and
without any competitive examinations. eventually returning to the police
There was no formal training for department. Two others were hired as
officers in that era and little thought Patrolmen in 1929. Thomas G.
cffF
74
v _
-04
- _ �,' o
. � � � � �
cp
��
R
- - _ w� 1
' a
�S 1-
V
•v _,
�.
�x
T.
4
�
The members of the department got together for a formal picture in 1927. Standing from left to right are: fern Keller, Fred Berdelman,A. J.
Parker, George Coleman, Chief Charles Steward, George Cox, Police Judge C. P. Patton, George Gelzer, Gene Belshe. Motor Officer E. A.
Shaffer, Police Matron Hannah Horwitz and Motor Officer W. L. Evans.
12
Chapter 3: The Repression Years
Police blamed the problems on out of hired as Patrolmen and Owen "Two
_ work oil workers and tourist hobos Gun" Mosier as the "Desk Sergeant."
�. that came into the area from the east Officer Mosier acquired the nickname
�a to enjoy the mild California winter. "Two Gun" because he wore a tie
On December 14, 1931, Chief tack that was actually a single shot pis-
Steward resigned to go into ranching full tol that was capable of firing. Being
time. At this point, the job was offered ever mindful of the police depart-
to Jack Tinsley, who had been rehired ment's public image one of Chief
just prior to Chief Steward's resigna- Keller's first orders was to keep the
tion. He declined the position believ- police cars off the entrance_to the pier.
ing the next council due to be elected Chief Keller also hired Luther A.
in 1932 would remove him and Arthur, a Baptist Minister,as a shoot
LaVerne Keller was appointed as ing instructor.
- Chief. The appointment of Keller was Although there were few changes in
not made on his long experience and the department during Chief Keller's
r 'd extensive knowledge of police opera- tenure, it is worthy of note that during
tions. At the time of appointment, this time Ben Dulaney was deputized
Keller had three years police exper- as a noncompensated Special Officer
fence. He was however the com- of the pier and assigned to work the
mander of the American Legion Post waterfront area. Chief Keller also
at the time and a very popular figure hired Howard Robidoux's wife, Elma,
in the community. Chief Keller was as the Police Matron and established a
born in Missouri on March 20, 1894, Junior Police Patrol comprised of
Chief Vern Keller in 1932. and later moved to Oklahoma. He local Boy Scouts. The initial members
came to Huntington Beach in 1923 of the group were Jack Brewster,
and worked in the oil fields before Woodrow and George Honold, Regi-
joining the fire department. Chief nald Pate and Edwin Tinsley, former
BY1930 the police department Keller was the driver of the fire truck Chief Tinsley's son. The group worked
had developed into an independent city before joining the police department. at the police station, helped as crossing
department with the Chief of Police no With the change in command came guards, and did other community
longer responsible for Fire, Lifeguard the concurrent changes in personnel. activities.
or Street Maintenance. It was about A. J. Parker and William Hunter were The city was patrolled by two shifts
this time that a system for contacting
the police officers was devised. A light
was laced on to o the City Hall, g s
p P .f tJ' � � �� �} ��f�
being visible all over the city. When a � � fi
police call came into the department,
the light was turned on and an officer a,
responded to receive the call. m4
� 4
The early 1930's were depression ,.
years and new problems came with
them. One of the problems was the
large force of people out of work. The
population of the city dropped to
3,690 people and stayed at that level. „r
a;
One of the reasons for the decline in
s
population was the lack of new oily
drilling resulting in no jobs for the
large population of oil workers. The
November 5, 1931 edition of the Hun- t
tington Beach News points out that the
�9 k
greatest police problem of the period ''
was theft and burglary. The article
tells how homes are being entered in ¢
daylight with the occupant at homeand items being taken. The Chief of A. J. Parker in the uniform of the day. 1932
13
a
to Los Angeles with his family while a
F young boy. At 16 years of age he
s
,N ; i entered the Navy and served for two
years. After his discharge, he drove
street cars in Los Angeles and
eventually came to Huntington Beach
where he worked in the oil fields. He
was an outgoing man who would do
chin ups at the top of an oil derrick.
During his time on the police
department, Chief Gelzer carried a
single action Colt.45 pistol.
= In May 1934,the police department
arrested 37 people and handled 175
calls for service. A patrolman worked
a 12-hour day and a six-day work
'- week for his $100-a-month pay. This
pay went up to $150 per month in
June when Gayle Bergey was hire
From left to right. Standing—Bill Hunter, Les Grant, Chief Vern Keller, G. W. Cox, Owen again as a Patrolman and Don
Mosier and Vern Mohn. Motor Officers—George Gelzer and Howard Robidoux. Blossom was hired as the Desk
on a 24-hour basis, and the reporting the purpose of building a radio Sergeant at $125.00 a month for the
was done using the Criminal Identifi- communications center in the county. summer. It was also during this
cation and Investigation Form A-1 for The first transmitter was located on summer that Chief Gelzer allowed
all crimes and a continuous running the second floor of the Orange County democracy to decide what type of
log for all non-criminal contacts. The Sheriffs building and took up 12 vehicle the new police car should be.
reports were written by the desk square feet in space. Receivers only By popular vote, a 1934 four-door
officer, who received all information were installed onto the two Oldsmobile with a six-cylinder engine
for the report from the field officers. Huntington Beach motorcycles. If a was chosen and purchased for
With the exception of a change in the call for service came into the Hunting- $1,043.00.
appearance of the form in 1949,this ton Beach Police Department, the In August of 1934, departmental
system of reporting was utilized by the desk officer called the radio dispatcher records indicate a caseload including
department up until 1960. in Santa Ana, who then broadcast the
In the early 1930's, the police still information to the two motorcycle
had but one car available and it was officers. This system all but did away
parked at the station most of the time. with the red light used for informing
The patrol function was performed by the police that a call had come in. The - _
two motorcycle policemen who were light was used only occasionally for
out in the field each day. If either the benefit of a downtown footbeat
officer made an arrest, he had to find a officer.
nearby telephone and call the desk According to the radio log of the
officer at the station, who would then Orange County Communications
close up the police station and go out Center, the first official all points a
into the field to pick up the prisoner bulletin was that: "Charles `Pretty Boy'
��..
and take him to the jail. Floyd, a notorious outlaw, had been ` -tff
During these years, and until 1948, seen west of Anaheim two days
there was no rank structure in the prior." e
department other than the positions of On April 20, 1934, Chief Keller gym`
the Chief and Assistant Chief. The was demoted to motorcycle officer &
Chief worked during the day and the and Patrolman George Gelzer was
Assistant Chief, if one had been promoted to Chief of Police for a two-
appointed, worked at night. If neither year term. No reason was given for the �
was available then responsibility for sudden change, but an interesting
the operation fell to the senior officer sidelight was that the change occurred
present. one week after a City Council election
In March of 1934, during Chief in which two new councilmen were
Keller's tenure, police radio communi- seated.
cations were installed. The 13 cities in Chief Gelzer was born February 24,
Orange County pooled $12,000 for 1899 in Denver, Colorado and moved Vern Keller and Harry Lee.
14
220 calls for service, 17 open doors and Owen Mosier were making all of - i
and 56 arrests. Of those, 29 arrests $145.00 and$135.00 respectively. _
s a
were for City Ordinance violations 12 The entire police department budget °
for intoxication, 3 for speeding, 3 for for fiscal year 1935-1936 totalled
burglary and 4 were "sleepers." The $20,580.00 and was broken down as:
others were not mentioned.
By March 4 1935 an experienced Salaries $17 280r
motorcycle officer was making Auto, Repairs
$170.00 a month. It was also on this and Operating 1,500 �
day that Howard Robidoux was fired Officers and Jail Expenses 1,800
from his job as a motor officer for New Equipment 0 k
insubordination and as irony would �,�
have it, was replaced by Gene Belshe, $20,580 a v ,
the man Robidoux had replaced some Chief Gelzer rounded out his two- k�_
six years before. Officer Robidoux year term by hiring C. H. Killian as a
exercised his right of appeal and was Patrolman, and on March 16, 1936,
granted an immediate hearing, but his he reinstated Howard Robidoux to his
firing was upheld in a closed door Motor Officer position and dismissed
session of the City Council. The local Vern Keller for "the good of the _
paper did not even report the reason department."
for the termination. Shortly after this, The gambling that had become part
Chief Gelzer hired Jimmy Pontius as of the Huntington Beach scene during
an extra patrolman to be used as the boom years was still present and Howard Robidoux.
needed, and the entire department got thriving as Chief Gelzer's two-year Huntington Beach, worked as a
a salary hike. Chief Gelzer was term ended. Given the problems he security guard in the shipyards during
making $205.00, Motor Officers faced in trying to eradicate the wide the war, and in 1945 moved to Hemet
Keller at $175.00, and Belshe at open games, he opted to end his police where he farmed and subsequently
$160.00, were paid slightly more than career for the time being and not seek went to work for the Riverside
Patrolmen Grant, Cox, Bergey, and reappointment. After leaving the County Flood Control District retiring
Tinsley, who were making $155.00. police department, Chief Gelzer in 1966 as its Superintendent. After
The two Desk Sergeants Don Blossom operated a service station in leaving the department, former Chief
mn
;i
15, 4NUN
- i'
AI 4,
R
n :
x,' Y Ir�tp
re� bn
` 7. i
i
,
e
,,a �' a
Ph_ ww
h
r t t
3
,
� x �
Chief George Gelzer, Motor Officer Gene Belshe and Patrolman Les Grant.
15
Gelzer ran for election as Chief inl ,
1937 and 1942, both times
unsuccessfully. �-
In April of 1936, another city , ' ', _ '
council election was held, and again, _
out went the old Chief of Police and
a
in came the new. On April 20, Harvey
Lester Grant was appointed as Chief
of Police and became the twelfth mangy t�
to bear the title of Chief Law . $ `
Enforcement Officer for the city and
its sixth Chief of Police. as
From left to right Back Row—Howard Robidoux, Chief Les Grant, Fuzzy Errington, A. J.
Parker, Don Blossom and Gene Belshe. Front Row:Jack Tinsley, John Seltzer, Gayle
Bergey and Owen Mosier.
hour a day job. Traditionally, newly the desk relief man in June and did
hired police officers started on the such a good job he was appointed as a
desk but the job was not for everyone. full-time desk officer on July 1. This
- Art Gillespie, who had been hired five would start a 32-year career which
} months before to be the next desk would end with his retirement as Chief
i. man, left the department in December, of Police.
1936, to pursue other interests and Traffic regulation appears to have
A. J. Parker replaced him. been the major enforcement problem
As the summer of 1937 rolled in the 1930's and early 1940's. All
around, John Seltzer was hired to be traffic laws were found in City
Chief Les Grant.
Chief Grant was born April 8, 1899 '� r
in Williamson County, Illinois, and
grew up there. Although his father had
been a Deputy Sheriff in Marion,
Illinois, Chief Grant did not row u
4 ?A
wanting to be a police officer. He `
served in the Army during the war
T3{ M li
and afterward returned to Marion y
where he worked in a variety of jobs A 11" ,
until moving to Miami, Florida where
he p joined the fire department. In 1927
a W
Chief Grant came to Huntington -
Beach and worked for both Ring Oil
and Standard Oil before joiningthe
police department on April 1, 1930. � �
The job of policing the city had
gotten increasingly busy and to better '* � � s
serve the public, the desk sergeant
position had been expanded to a 24- Gene Belshe directs traffic at Main Street and Ocean Avenue.
16
appointed him as an Honorary Deputy
fi Sheriff in January, 1939. Although the
year started well for Chief Grant,
trouble loomed ahead. Later that year
Chief Grant and Vern Keller were
' riding double on Keller's motorcycle
` . � while attending the Newport Beach
Parade of Lights and were involved in
„ r t
t 1 an accident. Chief Grant was injured
repro � �' yx7@p
and never fully recovered. Because his
ys „ f , pit h � ,ag r� „ injuries prevented him from being at
full capacity, Chief Grant appointed
k f r Don Blossom as the Assistant Chief in
July, 1940. Chief Grant's condition
worsened and in spite of surgery in
September, 1940, he died at home on
Ow�a '„ „ Ma 12 1941 at the a e of 42 after
�� �,_ ��� x Y g
more than a year of illness. Chief
Chief Grants Deputy Sheriff appointment. Grant's popularity was evident by the
Ordinances guided by a model vehicle Chief Les Grant was a popular tribute paid him at his funeral. As
code. Traffic fatalities dropped from figure not only in town but throughout well, city offices were closed at noon
three in 1936 to one in 1937, but the the County and had aspirations to be on the day of his funeral to allow
number of traffic accidents increased the County Sheriff. He was also well everyone a chance to,pay their
during those years causing an increase liked by Sheriff Jessee Elliott, who respect. •
in the city's traffic ordinances.
�'� � � z a :: �Pi 'Y d r i, h t r. 1 i� h? � f a r o
In August of 1937, the voters of
Huntington Beach decided to make 44F r � y P
the Chief of Police an elected office
and the first election for the job took
place on November 9 of that year. $; x E0 %$ 16'E
77W-
Candidates for the job included
Officer Cox, George Gelzer, now the
owner of a gas station, and the
incumbent Chief Grant. Chief-Grant
won decisively receiving 915 votes to
489 for Gelzer and 45 for Cox and .
G
became the first elected Chief of Police
in Orange County. Within two weeks, �„
Officer Cox offered his resignation but
it is not known if it was accepted then,
however, his name no longer appeared
in the jail register after February, °
1938. Campaigning was the name of the game.
17
Chapter 4: The Winds of War
FEE, ' r P m � pay raise to $160.00 a month. Officer
Y ,
k Errington alternated between the
Street Department where he worked
during the winter and the police
n � department which he joined every
T,
summer.
14 �� In April, 1942, Chief Blossom was
elected to a four-year term as Police
Chief.Three men sought the office
F with Chief Blossom receiving 712
votes, Ben Dulaney, 685, and George
Gelzer, 94
47
Assistant Chief Don Blossom is sworn to as the Chief of Police by City Clerk Charley Fir.
Others pictured from left are Tom Talbert, Arthur Morehouse,Fred Grable(holding
badge), Marcus McCallum and Lee Chamness next to Fir.
1 �
With Chief Grants passing, joining the police in 1933 was with the . ,
Assistant Chief Don Blossom was Willis Warner Hardware Company. » x
appointed by the Council on May 15, Chief Blossom appointed Gene ��
1941 to serve the remaining 11 months Belshe to the position of Assistant b'
of Grants term. Chief Blossom was Chief, updated the departments three
born in Booth Bay Harbor, Maine and police cars by installing spotlights on
came to Huntington Beach in 1922 them and hired a few more officers.
where he worked as a Clerk in the George Mitchell and Clarence Double Gene Belshe and Gayle Bergey walk the
downtown beat.
Turner Department Store before joined the department as police
forming a partnership with H. C. Reed officers and E. "Fuzzy" Errington, The traffic problems of the 1930's
and opening the Blossom &Reed who had joined the department in and general peace keeping duties were
Furniture Store. His last job before April 1941, for the sixth time got a not things with which Chief Blossom
� { n
t
s
is
The Department takes part in the war effort. (From left to right): Chief Don Blossom,Assistant Chief Gene Belshe,Alfred Parker, Fuzzy
Errington, Clarence Double,John Seltzer, Howard Robidoux, Gayle Bergey,Jack Tinsley and Owen Mosier.
18
had to contend. The war effort Chief Blossom investigated the published the story, bringing national
affected everyone and everything June, 1942 murder of Cora Smith and attention to the department.
including the Huntington Beach Police after solving the crime with the help of In February, 1943, A. J. Parker,
Department. During this time the the rest of the department, submitted who had always worked nights,
officers were required to shoot three the story of the investigation for resigned so that he could devote more
targets everyday to keep in practice, a
and getting that much ammunition
was no easy task. Assistant Chief
Belshe,his wife, Johnnie, and their u
�
son Buddy, solved the problem b
setting up a bullet manufacturing shop
in the cellar of City Hall. Working m-
together they smelted, recapped, and R -
reloaded 1,000 rounds per week and
kept the department in ammunition.
Also during this time the s
department significantly changed its
uniform. From the time uniforms were , "
first worn in the 20's, they had been
blue. Minor changes were made fromti
time to time, such as hat color or bow
ties instead of long ties; but always
remained in the context of the blue �& 00
� �
uniform. By June, 1942, they ���
department had changed-from navy
blue to the tan uniforms without � � �� ' .
shoulder patches which quickly
became known as "Officer Pinks" Officer A. J. Parker caught the kids he was chasing on the beach road but forgot to put the
because they quickly discolored. brakes on when he got out of the car. It took two tow trucks to get Unit 452 back on the
Shoulder patches were added a short road
time later to what would remain the publication. Two periodicals: Timely time to his family. His resignation was
uniform for the next 45 years. Detective Cases and Human Detective short lived and he was brought back
in November. The job was still a six-
day-a-week assignment and police
officers were making$190.00 a
month.
MAI, In 1945, FM radios were installed
a, in the police cars, thus permitting car-
to-car broadcasting on one channel,
z E s
5 while station-to-car communications.
was conducted on another frequency.
The downtown footbeat officer still
relied on the red light mounted on top
of the pole at Main and Pacific Coast
1 e,
Highway to summon him. In July,
d Harold Mays was hired as a
r Patrolman beginning atwenty-nine
pr
t year career that would see him rise to
the rank of Captain.
The end of 1945 also brought the
. end of an era to the Huntington Beach
} Police Department, when its first
F
Chief of Police,-Jack Tinsley, retired.
Not only was he a former City
Marshal and the first Chief, but he was
the first to retire under the City's
Retirement Plan which had been in
A local murder makes national reading. effect for only two months. o
19
Chapter 5: Polities., Polities, Polities
became the first Captain and received
an $80.00 a month raise.
On April 9, 1946, Chief '�' � By 1949, the City of Huntington
Blossom was re-elected by a narrow N, Beach had grown to a population of
margin of 22 votes over Ben Dulaney. 5,237 and had a 17-man police
Politics were the order of the day and � � department. The pay for police was
Dulaney, who was now a constable in $250.00 a month and officers received
the city, was using his contacts ' _ 12 days of vacation per year. It was
Y g 4 Y P Y
e ectivel . also on June 5 of this year that the
By August, 1946, Chief Blossom �e� city had its first riot on the beach. The
� �7>� -
headed an eleven-man department. � � citypolice had always left the beach
p �� area alone and in doing so it had
The Chief worked days and Assistant y _ F g ,
Chief Belshe worked 3 to 11 p.m. The � turned into a haven for Los Angeles
other members of the department a7s, hoodlums who were only interested in
included Owen Mosier, the Desk r a place to go for unmolested drinking
Man, Harold Mays, Gayle Bergey, a and troublemaking. On this day the
Clarence Mc Morries, A. J. Parker, results of this hands-off policy were
Howard Robidoux, Harry Sallade, dramatically seen when Lifeguard
"- °' Captain Bud Higgins called the police
John Seltzer, and newly hired Roy �� �, p gg
Roberts. None of the patrolmen made to assist in detaining a person who was
more than $225.00 a month and creating.a disturbance on the beach.
worked rotating shifts. One officer was `- Captain Belshe and Officer Parker
assigned to walk a footbeat in the arrested a man for disturbing the
downtown area checking the bars and Chief Don Blossom peace, handcuffed him and led him up
shaking doors. At night, two officers to Ocean Avenue. They were followed
worked together in the Prowl car, On September 1, 1948, the first by a group of 300 young beach goers
handling what few radio calls there rank structure was set up in the who attacked them and took the
were. department and Assistant Chief Belshe prisoner away. The crowd also chased
the arresting lifeguard north on Main
Street, where he escaped them by
hiding in the meat cooler of the
Standard Market. The crowd failed to
get the lifeguard but they did do
extensive damage to the market. It
should be noted that later that day
Captain Belshe recaptured the lynched
prisoner.
In 1949, after 28 years of
utilization,the department put the use
of motor officer patrol on what was
believed to be a temporary hold. In an
attempt to lessen the chance of injury
to the motor officers, Howard
Robidoux was taken off his bike and
assigned to patrol duties. This
temporary move would not be a short
one. It would last for 24 years.
The April 11, 1950 city election
brought an end to Chief Blossom's
police career. Ben Dulaney's grass
roots campaign paid off and he won
the election by more than 400 votes,
and on April 17, 1950 Benjamin
Hester Dulaney was sworn in as the
Gayle Bergey keeps an eye on things with "Lucky."1947. City's eighth Police Chief.
20
" ,"_ .," a� ', .
r+. i"- "og
a AQ
N V rm ad�4 k ':Ik �^rv� ���` m �� �'e �} a IJ � �
ti
mi s
��� ■
�a r
t{
i
5T�.
y
Main Street and Ocean Avenue in the early 40's as seen from atop Jack's Surfboards.
Chief Dulaney reorganized the in that era were traffic and theft, in almost a year later that a darkroom
department in June, promoting John that order. Most of the theft problems was built in the station.
Seltzer and Howard Robidoux to stemmed from the beach itself and
Lieutenant and Gale Bergy, Harold from autos parked along Pacific Coast "IF �
Mays, and Owen Mosier to Sergeant. Highway. e� 4
The department was operating on By 1952, Sergeant Gale Bergey had � � i
three watches, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., taken an early retirement from they
3
from 2 p.m, to 10 p.m., and from 10 police department and became the first 011100
p.m. until 6 a.m. The department had deputy constable to work for Charles ; , T,
only one division during the early 50's Derigo, who was the Constable in the
and that was Patrol Division. Major area that is now called West Orange
problems confronting the department County. O r
The department continued to grow
i and by July, 1952, Fred Dewitt, r �i
�a = Richard Farrell, Jack Bullar and Hank a
_ Archer had joined the ranks. Shortly
�k after Hank Archer was hired, he and
_ Paul Darden, under the direction of
Detective Lieutenant Seltzer, started
the Identification Bureau. The bureau Chief Ben Dulaney
311
Q maintained fingerprint files and began
r
the scientific investigation of crime The early 50's also saw some
=� scenes for physical evidence. additions to the department and some
ror�y 1 i �� ��� h�+ f
i,� _ � � � Resources were scarce and space at promotions. Eddie Groom, Fred
' the police department cramped and so Benham, and Robert Williams were
the photographs that were taken were hired as Patrolmen, and in October,
developed in the darkroom at Officer 1953, Harold Mays was promoted to
Gene Belshe checks the pier. Darden's house. It was not until Lieutenant and Howard Robidoux to
21
X � V
a
� - P
P �
4..
MS
e
FIFEW"
� r w
First row:Lt. Robidoux, Sgt. Mosier, Sgt. Mays, Sgt. Bergey, Chief Dulaney, Lt. Seltzer and Capt. Belshe. Second row: Officer Me Morries,
Officer Ross, Officer Dewitt, Officer Darden and Officer Hillis. Third row: Officer Oldenberg, Officer Sallade, Officer Biddle and Officer
Farrell. August 1951.
Captain. Chief Dulaney mour_ted a would seek his third term as the beach when an arrest was made.
successful campaign for re-election in Department Head, but the campaign Just as had happened nine years
April, 1954 receiving 1,027 votes. His and election would have a serious earlier, the beach crowd was less than
closest challenger, ex-Chief Don effect on the department. In February, enthusiastic that one of their number
Blossom received only three. In the Captain Howard Robidoux sought was being taken away. A crowd
mid 1950's, Hank Archer was and received a leave of absence until estimated at 5,000 threw rocks,
reclassified and became the First I.D. the election so he could campaign for bottles, and cups of sand at the officer
Technician for the department, Herb the Chiefs job. Although Robidoux and in so doing, created such a
Oldenberg, Paul Darden, and Elvan worked long and hard and received disturbance that officers had to be
Biddle were promoted to Sergeant, significant backing, it was not enough called from other agencies to quell the
and thanks to Chief Dulaney who got to beat Chief Dulaney. Upon returning riot. In all, more than seventy officers
a city ordinance passed, it became a to work, Captain Robidoux found that were needed to restore peace and
crime in the City of Huntington Beach he had been demoted to patrolman although many were hit with the
to give false information to a police and was assigned to the graveyard thrown objects, the only injured
officer. Things were looking up for the shift which he worked several months, lawman was an off-duty officer from
police officers in Huntington Beach, but his problems were not over yet. the Montebello Police Department.
especially in December, 1956, when Chief Dulaney, recently elected for After this riot, the City Council
their uniform allowance was increased the.third time, was about to face a banned alcoholic beverages from the
to $6.00 a month. problem himself. On April 12, 1958, beach. •
In April, 1958, Chief Dulaney only days after his election, he was at
22
Chapter fies The Professional Era
On October 8, 1958 the Delbert"Bud" Higgins, Huntington
department lost its eighth Chief of Beach Fire Chief; Kenneth Potts, a
Police when Ben Dulaney died as a Coast Guard Commander; Joe
2
result of injuries he received in a Gifford, a machinist; Alfred Parker,
traffic accident and Captain John retired Huntington Beach Police
Seltzer was appointed Acting Chief. Officer; and Fred Hermann, a
One of the first tasks Acting Chief plumber.
Seltzer accomplished was to do away The State Personnel Board gave the
with the "good ole boy" system of exam and only four men passed.
hiring police officers. For the first time Wright finished first with a score of in the department's history, a 87.51, Seltzer second with a score of
competitive exam was given to 76.98, Higgins third at 74.54, and
prospective applicants. The exam was Mays fourth with a score of 72.33.
given under the supervision of the Even with the exam and clear cute t
State Personnel Board and included scores, the selection of the next Chief SA
V
both written and oral tests. Thirteen did not come easy. First a motion to 20 Rlib,-,
applicants availed themselves of the appoint Seltzer failed, then a call fora
testing process and the first officers to special election was met with defeat.
be hired through this entrance test Finally, Clint Wright was appointed
process were Forrest Lewis and G. L. and began his term of office on
"Bill" Payne. They were appointed as November 3, 1958. Chief Clint Wright.
Huntington Beach police officers on Two reasons given for Wright's
November 1, 1958, at a starting salary appointment over Seltzer, according to Councilman Waite,stated that he had
of$365.00 a month. a November 6 edition of the been contacted by three of the city's
The community and the local press Huntington Beach News, was that biggest gambling ringleaders and that a
expected Captain Seltzer to be
appointed to complete Dulaney's term
of office because he was a local man,
well liked, who had risen through the
ranks. More than one person was
surprised when the City Council
decided to give an open competitive
examination for the position of Police
Chief. This was in spite of receiving a
petition with more than 400 signatures
calling for a return to an elected Chief.
The job of Police Chief was a popular
one and eleven men applied:
Captain John Seltzer, a 21-year
veteran of the Huntington Beach
Police Department; Clint Wright,
Chief of Police of Westminster Police
Department; Lieutenant Harold Mays,
a 13-year veteran of the Huntington
Beach Police Department; George
mv;w
Stinson, an officer, with three years
experience with Huntington Beach
Police Department; Clarence Double,
a Lieutenant with Orange County
0"
01"
Sheriffs Office who had worked for
the department in 1941; Albert
Thompson, owner of the H & B During Chief Clint Wright's tenure,professionalism increased Here he presents
marksmanship awards to the best shots. (L to R):Hank Archer, Robert Williams, Bill
Market and five years experience Bruce, Forrest Lewis, William Whitman, Eddie Groom, Bill Payne, Obie Moore, Paul '
with the Redlands Police Department; Darden, Elmer Russell, Captain John Seltzer, Elvan Biddle and Chief Wright.
23
threat had been made to encourage Bureau Commander. patrol to that of downtown Meter
him to vote for one of the local Under Chief Wright's leadership, Officer, which he made shortly after
candidates. The same issue of the the department began an era of his appointment. Officer Robidoux's
paper carried an article by Captain professionalism. The black and white new duties included writing parking
Seltzer refuting any association with police cars were made uniform with meter tickets, collecting parking meter
local gambling interests. The second similar radio and siren controls, money and, unrecognized by Chief
reason given for selection was that the standards were set for the wearing of Wright, campaigning to be the next
local Minister's Association had the uniform. Professionalism was elected Chief of Police.
requested that the City Council make required of all officers and complaints Many other changes, both in the
their selection from the examination were handled professionally, not city and county police agencies,began
scoring results. politically as in the past. Reports were to take place about this time. The city
Chief Wright was a professional standardized and professional police increased its boundaries from 4.7
who had served with the Pasadena standards were established throughout square miles up to 25 square miles and
Police Department and the Orange the department. the city's population increased to an
County Sheriffs Department before Of all the changes and reorgani- official 11,492 in 1960. People began
becoming Chief of Police in zation Chief Wright accomplished, the moving into Orange County and into
Westminster. After Wright's one thing that would come back to Huntington Beach at the rate of almost
appointment to Chief, Captain Seltzer haunt him was the reassignment of 1,000 persons per month, creating new
went back to his duties as Detective Howard Robidoux from graveyard demands on local law enforcement.
TZ
x
4{
i,," ���.�"" �,� ,'�;:' "y ",r ��" y, N,• y�-,s, �.. �^'�, ,e'a� _+�Lw.t *,e�`� � °rh :.'a+h k�.... ��.4`�, ,zk�%��� �f
may..
a
G
�i.. x �
er AN
��'.../. `,- k , .off __ ,'S^'n..,_ _,...
(First row, kneeling, L to R):Sgt. ElvanBiddle, Sgt. Herb Oldenberg, Sgt. Paul Darden and Records/Matron Hazel Decker. (Middle row):
James `Blackie"Cooper, Elmer Russell, Richard Farrell, Forrest Lewis, Jack Bullar, Sam Catrabone, Mel Remington and Fred Dewitt.
(Back row):Bill Linzenmeyer, Ralph Woolard, Steve Arebalo, Fred Benham, Julius Manley, George Stinson and G. L. `Bill"Payne.
24
officers in attendance received eight
college units upon completion. No
officers from the Huntington Beach
t Police Department.attended the first
class, which was numbered Class #17.
The first 16 classes of the Orange
County Police Academy had not been
k d P.O.S.T. certified and had been put on
by the F.B.I. at the Orange County
Peace Officer's Association office on
Katella Avenue. This office was later
deeded to the County as a training
facility and is now known as the
Orange County Sheriffs Training
Facility and Range.
The 18th Academy class was held
on October 16, 1961, and the first two
Huntington Beach police officers to
attend the academy were George
{.
Abbond and Jim Caldwell.
E Despite the many innovations and
the professionalism brought to the
4
department by Chief Wright, he was
unable to compete in a political
popularity contest, especially against a
long-time resident of the city.
Although the city was growing, it still
had a small town atmosphere about it.
AT Almost everyone who was anyone
met every morning at Nobel Waites
Drugstore at Main and Walnut to
discuss what had happened in the last
24 hours. Chief Wright did not make
r all these breakfast meetings but
Howard Robidoux did.
�_��� ��� ��������� ��� ,•�,tr * � +4 , On April 6, 1962, Howard
Robidoux was elected Chief of Police
Chief Robidoux. by a 25 vote margin. The vote was
very close between Robidoux and
The Police Radio Network was split create a P.O.S.T. certified Police Clint Wright, but it was felt that
into three areas with Huntington Academy in this county, and on July community sympathy was on
Beach being placed in the South area 31, 1961, the first class was held at Robidoux's side because of the
along with police departments from Orange Coast College. The academy demotion he had gotten in 1958, when
Seal Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna was eight weeks in duration and he ran against Ben Dulaney for the
Beach, Westminster, Los Alamitos,
Costa Mesa, and San Clemente.
Fountain Valley police were added to
the network when they formed in
1967.
In 1960, the city was divided into
two patrol areas separated by Garfield ,
Street. During the same year, C.I.I. �
changed its form to the Felony, Theft, ,��
and Sex Modus Operandi reporting
form. It was also this year that the
State Commission of Peace Officer ���� ��
Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) was
formed. In early 1961 the Orange
County Chiefs of Police voted to Motor Officers Ed Haslet and Roy Farber at work.
25
Chiefs job. MA
._ � .._ `
On December 7, 1963, Chief
Robidoux reinstated the use of motor '`"
officers by assigning Ed Haslet to the a
job. Officer Haslet had worked as a
motor officer for the MontebelloNO
Police Department before joining the
Huntington Beach Police Department. r
Officer Haslet was joined a short time ¢R
later by Roy Farber and from there
motor officers have been used
continuously by the department.
Robidoux's victory was short lived
however, for on June 17 1964 he = y
died. Chief Robidoux did have one e�
distinction to his term of office
though—he was the last Chief of � a -
Police to be elected in Huntington "1
}' -
Beach. Seltzer's Sandmen from L to R:Bill Bruce, Gil Veine, John Berens, Chuck Hollingsworth,
On June 17, 1964, Captain John Jerry Crusinberry, Roger Maltby, Don Tryon, Monty McKennon and Ed Pratt. '
Seltzer was appointed Acting Chief of Harbour's waterways began. In a joint special enforcement unit on the beach
Police and on July 15, 1964, he was venture with the city lifeguards who and was dubbed"Seltzer's Sandmen."
appointed Chief of Police to serve the piloted patrol boats, police officers The unit was usually made up from
remainder of Robidoux's term of accompanied them as deckhands and four to six plainclothes and from four
office. Seltzer was also made Dewayne Brown and Earle Robitaille to six uniformed officers. The men
permanent Captain to prevent him were almost the first. worked the beach as an extra duty
from being the victim of a demotion In August, 1964, the Life Guard assignment from about 10 a.m. to 4
should he lose the upcoming 1966 Department moved to their new p.m. on weekends and holidays, in
election. As it turned out, he was not facility at First Street and Ocean addition to their regular watches and
required to run for office as the people Avenue and their old facility on the assignments. In May, 1965, the Traffic
of Huntington Beach voted to beach, east of the Pier, was given to
return the job to an appointive the police department to use as a
position. It was also about this time beach sub-station. Chief Seltzer _
that the first patrol of Huntington created a unit which worked as a
t Q
NE
a
r
�� -
g k
Sgt. Arland Ussher checks a warrant
abstract with Senior Clerk Helen Cowling
(seated)and Warrant Clerk Helen Cook.
t "
Unit had grown in size and scope to
° the point it was designated a bureau
and recently promoted Lieutenant
vi
G. L. Payne was assigned as the
Bureau Commander.
By 1966 the police department
Y�
numbered more than 60 men, working
Chief John Seltzer congratulates Police Academy graduates Chris Schneider, Carl Vidano,m three watches: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 2 p.m.
Don Jenkins and Luis Ochoa.June, 1965. to 10 p.m.; 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.; and a
26
enforcement for the City of
Huntington Beach. Sergeant Bob
Morrison was successful in getting the
idea of airborne law enforcement
a w � accepted by the city fathers, which
made the Huntington Beach Police
Department the first in Orange
County and the fifth in the United
a
States to initiate a helicopter patrol
a program. On January 22, 1969, the
first training flight in the city owned
helicopter took place. Sergeant Bob
Morrison and his civilian flight
instructor John Crawford trained each
day at the Long Beach Airport.
During one training flight they were
c summoned to Huntington Beach to
t�
search for a missing five-year-old boy.
After five minutes of flying over the
- area, Sergeant Morrison saw the
missing boy fall into a pond in a
vacant field. He landed the helicopter,
picked up the boy and delivered him
to his grandfather's house by landing
in a residential street. It would be
difficult to cite a more timely or
Chief Seltzer with Sergeants(front row, L to R).Forrest Lewis, Eddie Groom and Gary beneficial example of the positive
Davis. (Second row):Elvan Biddle, Earle Robitaille, Joe Grundy and Hank Archer. aspects of airborne patrol.
On April 29, 1969 the police
few overlap officers to ensure officers for training purposes and filming department experienced another riot
in the field at all times of the day and major crime scenes. on the city's beach. This riot, like the
night. The starting salary for a The summer of 1968 marked the first two, was caused by an arrest
policeman was more than $600 a beginning of a new dimension to law situation. Instead of intoxication, this
month. The department was
comprised of three divisions which W =
were Patrol, Investigation andPAY
Q
Services.
Prior to 1968, there was no formal
Vice or Narcotic Units. The
responsibilities of both assignments
were handled by Sergeant Ralph
Woolard and arrests for narcotic A � ,
violations were rare as were those for "
vice offenses.
In mid 1968, Gene Pool was
assigned to Vice and Narcotics, Carl -
Vidano was assigned as the first ; � a
Juvenile Narcotic Officer and Ed Pratt
assigned to work Runaways which c
were actively investigated at the time.
In the latter art of 1968 Bob
P
Rinehart was promoted to Lieutenant
and a dedicated Vice and Narcotics
Unit was formed. Officers Pool and
Vidano were assigned and Sergeant „
Jack Reinholtz was the supervisor,
and about the same time, the
Identification Bureau received their Sgt. Robert Morrison holds missing boy next to Flight Instructor John Crawford. This
first video tape equipment to be used happy ending starts the program off on the right foot.
27
r.
4
`*s
t
r
r
f�4
m
g
s
IS sty ,
In 1969, uniforms were the order of the day. The Records Bureau shows off the latest attire:
(First row,from L to R): Terry Welsh, Helen Cowling and Jean Riopelle. (Middle row):
Virginia George, Carolyn Rockhold, Carol Haskell and Mary Martino. (Back row):Marge
Hunter, Marge Sanders, Norma Johnson and Barbara Conklin.
time it was a drug arrest. The parking
lot east of the pier was under � ro
construction at the time leaving a field01
of concrete fragments, which was usedFf
to bombard the police and police .
equipment and sub-station. Forty-four
persons were arrested, five policemen
were injured, and tear gas was used to � t.
disperse the crowd of nearly 3,000
people.
Officer Floyd Stafford was added to
the helicopter program as a pilot and
shortly thereafter, Jim Lail and Daryl
Poodry were assigned as observers. On Y�
June 16, 1969, the first patrol was
flown over the city. Sergeant Morrison "
and Officer Lail flew the day shift and
Officers Stafford and Poodry flew at (L to R):Captains Harold Mays, Bill Payne and Earle Robitaille and Chief Seltzer receive
night. • the first.helicopter, HB-1, on January 27, 1969.
28
Chapter 7: The Big City
®n Jul 31, 1969 Chief Seltzer Chief Robitaille began his career in Ussher and under his direction
y I f g
retired with 32 years of police service 1956 with the Compton Police were three Lieutenant Watch
and Detective Division Commander, Department and from there went to the Commanders, one Lieutenant in
Captain Earle Robitaille was US. Treasury Department before charge of the Traffic Bureau, the
appointed as the new Chief of Police. joining the police department as a department's two helicopters,
patrolman on August 1, 1963. communications and the jail.
By the end of 1969, the police • The Investigation Division was
" `} , � department was staffed by headed by Captain G. L. "Bill"
u 0-t approximately 150 officers and non- Payne and under his control were
sworn personnel. The city was divided three Sergeants, 14 Investigators
IN
u , ! into six patrol areas and the and one additional Sergeant in
y department was still in the building charge of the Identification
they had moved into in 1923, except Bureau.
f that now the de artment filled almost • The Services Division was
MCI�, - p
the whole building. The Detective administered by Captain Harold
4 annex was modified to include room Mays who had been with the
for an expanded Detective Bureau and department nearly 25 years.
a crime lab facility. The Identification Under Captain Mays fell the
Bureau was attached to the Detective Records Bureau, Maintenance of
Bureau, and jail facilities were all the department's equipment,
expanded. custody of all property and
Chief Robitaille reorganized the evidence and the coordination of
department into four divisions: budget planning and execution.
• The Uniform Division was • The Administrative Division was
Chief Earle Robitaille. commanded by Captain Arland newly created and led by Captain
r � r y :- r
€ _
4 �
t
# 34 ,
XM—
}£
p
{$( A „rt
1R
F
-
m
r
1 8t + t
a -
a�,
1969 Motor Crew prepare for July 4th celebration. (First row,from L to R).Roy Farber, Brian Davidson, Frank Nagle, Gil Coerper,Jim
Shandrick, Dave Gammell, Roger Maltby and John Hauser. (Top row):Sgx Eddie Groom, Lt Dewayne Brown and Ofcr. Orva Aiken.
29
Michael Burlcgnfield. This division
was staffed by two Sergeants and
was responsible for Personnel and
Training, Planning and Research, E
Community Relations, Staff
Inspections and Administration of � k
the department's 50-man Police
Reserve.
1.,
In 1970, the department became the °
first in the nation to use a ten- '.
hour/four-day work week. The "Ten
Plan" as it was called permitted a
maximum number of officers to be on
the streets during the peak hours.
Along with this change in deployment,
the department initiated the High , � 4
School Law Enforcement Educationq�"�
Program which was one of the first of n`
its kind in the nation. Officers William
Van Cleve and Richard Williams
taught law enforcement courses and
i
counseled students on a full-time basis '
in the high schools. � � .. sr
The helicopter program continued .• µ.
to be a plus for the department, The 1970 Narcotics Unit, Henry Hitchcock, Odie Lockhart and Carl Vidano, seized more
however, due to limited resources the than 365,000 pills and seven kilos of marijuana in Garden Grove.
aircraft were hangered and maintained Long Beach Airport for the flight facility was built directly west of the
at Southland Helicopters at the Long crews. In an effort to maximize the Range. The 40 x 80 foot metal hangar
Beach Airport which meant daily trips program and eliminate disruptions in would be home for the Aero Unit for
between Huntington Beach and the the flight schedule, the first hangar many years.
The year 1970 also marked the
formation of the Vice and Intelligence -
Unit. The unit, which was under the
command of Lieutenant Bert Ekstrom,
was staffed by Ron Pomeroy and Gil
- IT : ' r Veine and reported directly to the
Chief.
The summer beach detail, which
had evolved out of"Seltzer's
Sandmen," also took on a new flavor
about this time. Officers were assigned
d t
to the unit on a full-time basis and
worked in plain clothes. The first full
time crew logged 1,243 arrests for the
summer, only to be outdone by the
1971 beach detail which arrested more
than 1,600people.
The beach was not the only place
the police department was busy.
Planning was well underway for the
new police department civic center
= facility at Main and 17th Streets.
The Huntington Beach Police
'= Department also developed a Federal
Grant to establish a Command and
Control System. The purpose of this
(Front row,from L to R):Bob Moran, Ivan Neal and Bob Archey. (Middle row):Jerry project was to develop a completely
Webb, Henry Hitchcock,Jimmy Craver, Gary Kircher, Odie Lockhart and Bob Dawson. computerized Command and Control
(Back row): George Renek, Jeff Cope and Arden Beavers. System which would cope with the
30
daily problems of police dispatch,
improve communications reliability , Fu
through digital encoding, improve
operational effectiveness, and provide �
the means for proper decision-making
during emergencies. m
The department also received a
$129,000 Federal Grant to develop an
Automated Traffic Records System. a '
This system provided the means of �
rapidly determining the location, day,
time and cause of accidents and was
compiled in a manner which allowed ;—,* � 4
supervisors to properly deploy their -
personnel in an effort to prevent
further accidents. The Traffic
Engineering Department also utilized
the information to analyze high ,.
incident intersections to determine
how the intersection should be i
changed to make it safer to use.
The year 1972 saw the Bell 47 surplus 'copters.
implemenation of the K-9 program
with Gary Kircher and Len Damerow built for the most part with volunteer trained and certified as fixed wing
being selected as the first two handlers, help and donated materials and was pilots. During an early training flight
and the Range at Gothard and Talbert financed by various money making the airplane crashed while landing and
was officially opened. The Range was projects organized by the Police was damaged heavily. It was repaired
�� Officers Association and the Reserve however, and the first patrol over the
Officers Association. city in the fixed wing aircraft was
By the end of 1972, the police flown by Lieutenant Morrison on May
department numbered 300 total 9, 1974. The use of the fixed wing was
personnel including sworn and non- not efficient as the helicopters and was
sworn personnel. The city's population ultimately eliminated from use in the
was 140,000 and a starting policeman Aero Bureau.
m Pi
Tw��; �` received a salary of$872.00 per Efforts to update the aircraft in use
month. by the department received a big boost
In February 1973, the department when the U.S. Army released W11, ` b initiated an Alcohol Safety Action hundred surplus helicopters to
Project (ASAP)—the goal of which qualifying agencies. The department
F 1 u was to provide increased enforcement was authorized to purchase Four Bell
��� Eq� a of drunk driver violations. The 47-G3B helicopters for $350.00 each.
� , „�o� -, �� program was very successful and The aircraft were taken out of
Gary Kircher and `Barry,"June, 1972. resulted in a 177 percent increase in mothballs, returned to Huntington
Al V � drunk driving arrests over the previous Beach, eventually rebuilt, and put into
year. The squad policing concept was service.
also implemented in 1973 as an By June, 1974, Officers Jim Craver
attempt to improve deployment. and Ken Jenson had completed their
The recession taking lace in the training and both were certified to fl
g P g Y
early 70's took its toll on the Aero as helicopter pilot in command. On
Bureau. The long hours being flown August 12, 1974, Officer Jenson's first
by the two helicopters brought the day of flying as pilot in command a
need for a third aircraft to the major tragedy struck the Aero Unit
forefront. A budget request for a third and the department. Due to a
helicopter was denied but the purchase scheduling problem, Officer Jenson
of a short take off and landing fixed had two hours at the beginning of his
wing airplane was authorized. In shift with no observer. In that time
August, 1972, a used Maule M-4 period he took a close friend of his for
Rocket was purchased from a private an orientation flight and crashed while
Len Damerow and "UN, June, 1972. party and the existing pilots were demonstrating an autorotation
31
technique. Officer Jenson was injured Enforcement Bulletin. .
severely and his passenger was killed. In October, Sergeant J. B. Price and � ��� t X"Aod
The summer of 1974 brought Officer Barry Case were trained and r ' � y gw
another first for the department. Bill formed the Hazardous Devices Squad g '
Van Cleve organized and implemented Sergeant Price initiated the formation
the nation's first Beach Liaison Patrol. of the unit to meet the need for local 1 , ,,
The concept of combining high school expertise in dealing with explosive ;`� = x
teachers in a low profile enforcement devices.
and counseling mode with the higher The early 70's also brought tragedy
profile enforcement activities was 26,
to the Huntington Beach Police M
original and successful. The program Department. December 1, 1974p
has been modified over the years and marked the second incident of one of i
has included the reserves, liaison our officers being killed in the line of
officers, and regular officers in many duty. Officer Leslie J. Prince, a 4-yearNM `
different capacities, but the idea is still member of the department, was
basically the same as described by directing traffic at the intersection of
Officer Van Cleve in an article he Beach Boulevard and Adams Avenue y
wrote and had published in the June, due to a power failure when he was
1974 edition of the F.B.I. Law struck and killed by a drunk driver. Officer Les Prince.
Officer Prince's name has been
memorialized by the city in that a
AIAL
park has been dedicated and named in
his honor. The park is located at the
_ west end of Venture Street in
Huntington Beach.
r In July, 1974, the department
formed a S.W.A.T. team with
Sergeant Price in command. The unit
began monthly training and in the first
competition in which it was entered,
took first place. The team has grown
over the years and is still in existence
today.
Between 1970 to 1975, the
department experienced a 50 percent
increase in calls for service but grew
only.16 percent in personnel which
was the beginning of a long term of
inadequate staffing to meet the needs
of the community. The department
had 176 sworn personnel in 1975,
including the Chief, four Captains, 12
Lieutenants, 29 Sergeants and 130
t Officers. Recognizing the difficult
years to come, the department
k±_ reorganized and created a new Special
Operations Division. This division was
charged with the responsibility of long
3` " range planning and special projects.
This reorganization brought to five the
t number of divisions in the department,
' the Executive Division which was
*� comprised of the Chief of Police,
" Narcotics and Vice; the Uniform
Division, which contained the Patrol
In July, 1975, Santa Rosa sponsored the first annual regional SWAT competition with Bureau, Traffic Enforcement, Accident
Huntington Beach taking first place overall. (First row, L to R).•Patrick Gildea and Val Investigation, Bicycle Safety Unit, and
Birkett. (Back row):Dennis Martin, Sgt. Barry Price and Chuck Poe. the Aero Bureau; the Investigation
32
Division containing the Crimes many man-hours were expended to avoided serious injury as a participant
Against Persons Unit, Crimes Against evacuate the area and to maintain in the unruly gathering lunged at the
Property Unit, Juvenile Bureau, security around the devastated and officer in an attempt to stab him with
Warrant Detail, Special Enforcement partially flooded disaster scene. a knife. The assault failed when the
Detail, and the Scientific Investigation Federal disaster funds were made officer moved out of reach and a
Bureau; the Administrative Services available to many of the victims. friend of the suspect was pushed by
Division included Training and Damage estimates totalled $3.5 the crowd and was stabbed instead.
Personnel, Police and Public Affairs, million to city property alone. Several hours of confrontation
Budgeting, Records, Property and By June, the Heliport Hangar, occurred before the yearly melee was
Evidence, and Vehicle Maintenance; which had been built as a temporary finally over.
and the forementioned Special facility in 1970 on a non-compacted The passing of Proposition 13 by a
Operations Division which was also landfill, had deteriorated to the point wide margin of California voters was
responsible for preparing grants and that it was condemned. The Aero immediately felt by the Huntington
projects, as well as compiling statistics. Bureau moved its operation to leased Beach Police Department. A freeze
The year 1975 also saw an addition facilities at John Wayne Airport and a was placed on hiring, causing shortage
to the Automated Command and search for a permanent facility began. of personnel in many areas. In an
Control System. The Automated Little did anyone know that the search attempt to keep up with calls for
Vehicle Locater System was installed would take eight years. service, personnel were transferred
but never lived up to its potential and On the Fourth of July, the police from inside work assignments. This
was eventually abandoned-The department was once again called freeze resulted in the department.
department also began a joint venture upon to quell a major disturbance in dropping in size from 203 to an
in 1975 with the University of the area of the city pier. An estimated allotted 195 although only 188 were
California, Irvine by participating in a crowd of 2,000 unruly persons began employed.
Federal Grant to form the Youth shooting off illegal fireworks, fighting, Due to mounting crimes and
Services Program. YSP as it came to throwing rocks and bottles and potential crime problems and at the
be known, offered civilian counseling breaking windows in area businesses. urging of many downtown
to juvenile status offenders. The One of the participants lost an eye businessmen and area residents, the
program was not only successful in when a firecracker was thrown into footbeat was once again assigned in
helping the youth of the community, his face. A police officer narrowly the downtown area. The footbeat
but it also helped to ease the caseloads
of the juvenile detectives and although
modified somewhat over the years, is
still in existence today. '
Over the next two years Chief
Robitaille was successful in adding is
sworn personnel to the department,
and in 1977, there were 158 police
officers. This raised the total of the .,w
Table of Organization to 203 sworn °
personnel.
The year 1978 presented the usual
policing problems, however, several
occurrences stood out due to their
v
magnitude and impact on the �
community. `
In the early morning of February 2, �=
" _.
a thunder storm pounded the city :,
along with extremely heavy rain.
Tornado like winds touched down in
several areas. A mobile home park at
Newland and Pacific Coast Highway � „ � �r �
was the hardest hit. Dozens of mobile
homes were overturned and pushed '
into each other as the high wind The 1977 Detective Bureau. (Front row, L to R):Jim Bogdanof, Ron Jenkins, Donna
passed through. Moderate damage Quinlan, Gerri Mackin, Unknown, Luis Ochoa, Gloria Storovich and Connie Helenihi.
occurred to several residences north of (Second row):Odie Lockhart, Bob Russell, Forrest Lewis, Bill Morris, John Daly, Chuck
the area as the storm moved toward Hollingsworth, Keith Nale and Ed McErlain. (Third row):Dick Hooper, Merle Schneblin,
Art Droz, Ray Hattabaugh, Steve Arebalo, Dennis Branch, Marty O'Reilly and Jim Weaver.
Fountain Valley. Miraculously, no (Last row):Bruce Young, Gary Sperling, Brian Moore, Gary Wright, Jim Wehr, Bill Payne
serious injuries occurred, however, and Dick Nolen.
33
consisted of tw4p two-man teams be an unqualified success but time and 500E helicopter equipped with a quiet
which began during the month of technology demanded that the fleet be tail rotor. The department became the
October. The response from area modernized. first law enforcement agency in the
citizens was very positive and the use The need to upgrade the fleet world to use this reduced noise system
of the downtown footbeat officer has coincided with the development of a and named it "The Quiet Knight." By
been used on and off ever since. quiet tail rotor system in the private 1987, the Aero Bureau had upgraded
In 1983, the look of the summer sector, and on November 26, 1984, its entire fleet and had three of the
beach detailed changed. What had the department was authorized to Quiet Ships in service.
been a predominantly plain clothes purchase a used Me Donnell Douglas The helicopter program has been
assignment for the summer months
became a motorized and uniformed v
squad. The popularity of all terrain - -
vehicles was capitalized on and the _` _ ' �
beach detail found out how successful ::
they could be. To go along with the
ATVs, the sworn officers went back a
into uniform—sportiff shorts along
with wash and wear shirts. The new a
look and mode of enforcement has
proven very successful.
By late 1984 the aircraft that hadr
been the backbone of the Aero Bureau
were long on hours and missions
flown, and getting short on life
expectancy. -
The Hughes model 269B helicopter
that served as the maiden ship in the _a
fleet had been replaced by the Military _
Surplus Bell 47s. All of these aircraft
had done an admirable job and theirs
flying record stands as a tribute to.the The 1985 Beach Detail. (Seated,L to R).Steve Overcast, Rick Onstott, Tom Correll and
mechanics and pilots who kept them Corby Bright. (Standing):Chuck Wright, Pat Conniff, Mike Biggs, Sue Kemper, Randy
in the air. The program had proven to Payne, Mike Taylor, Tom Grzecka, Ken Waage, Dave King and Nick Ekovich.
very successful and is responsible for
Cc an enhanced service capability. The
pilots and observers have distinguished
themselves time and time again and
have been often recognized for their
t � Ra professional actions and dedication to
duty. In one such instance Officer Jon
Arnold was honored by the Airborne
Law Enforcement Association in 1983
at their National Conference in
��
iU
� � Daytona Beach, Florida as the "Pilot
�C �;, M of the Year.,,
� �� � _` Y By 1985, the department had grown
to 202 sworn personnel and 126 non-
sworn. The department's support for
K,
b
, q Raa : � �� r continued education was evident in
that the average academic level of the
s_ x 5 9
fi department was 119 college units and
� :
150 degrees were held by the sworn
ff
personnel. Nationally, crime rose four
",A` a
percent, however, ung
Htin ton Beach
jljp-
y � �. 2 �a we
showed a nearly four percent decrease
i w
�r s i i in major crimes.
� The City of Huntington Beach is a
diverse community and the men and
The Quiet Knight. women who have and do make up the
34
police department are no strangers tothe dangers and demands of providing
service and protection to its citizenry. n
In the past 80 years there have been
countless acts of exceptional bravery , P
and service that are noteworthy. One,
however, stands out as truly
extraordinary and worthy of being
retold.
On April 13, 1985 about 10:00 "
p.m. Sergeant Ed Deuel was on duty
and conducting a patrol check at
Cagney's Bar located on Pacific Coast
Highway ust west of Main Street '
when he heard a radio broadcast of a
silent alarm at the Things For Your
Head"shop located just a few doors
away. Although it was near closing
time and quite possibly a false alarm,
Sergeant Deuel approached the
business on full alert as he had been
trained to do. Within a few moments
Sergeant Deuel was confronted by
two suspects who were both armed
and who had, in fact,just committed a This is the Ingram.45 caliber pistol the suspect who shot Sgt. Deuel used. The other suspect
robbery of the business. was armed with a sawed off shotgun,
As Sergeant Deuel was controlling In 1988 the Search and Rescue Pro Surf contest to Huntington Beach,
the suspects and awaiting help,one of program completed a project that is and with it, the worst riot the city
the suspects turned and fired a .45 truly remarkable. Through the beach has ever experienced. Hundreds
caliber semiautomatic Ingram pistol dedicated efforts of Post advisors of spectators caused more than
striking him in the chest. Fortunately, William White and Officer J. B. $250,000 in damage when they
Sergeant Deuel, who was wearing a Hume, an office and training facility attacked the,police officers who were
bullet proof vest, returned fire, hitting was completed adjacent to the Joint trying to come to the aid of some young
the suspect and killing him. At this Powers Fire Training Center and the females who had their bikinis ripped
point the second suspect fired at Police Heliport. The new training off by some of the crowd. More than
Sergeant Deuel with a sawed off facility stands as a tribute to the 200 officers were needed to quell the
shotgun and escaped. He was, program and what it represents. disturbance, including 100 from the
however, subsequently captured and 1986 brought the 5th annual O. P. Huntington Beach Police Department.
ultimately sentenced to state prison. In
recognition of Sergeant Deuel's
bravery and exemplary actions, he was �
awarded the department's medal of
valor. -�
For nearly 20 years the police � u
department had sponsored Law � �
;<
Enforcement Post 563. The Post was �a
founded in 1965 with Sergeant Earle � (
Robitaille as the advisor. In 1984 the
direction of the program was changed
and the parameters expanded to better
meet the needs of the explorers and
the change was significant. The Post
was changed to a Search and Rescue
Post and included training advisors
from the fire department as well as the �
police department. This transition also
included a new uniform and uniform � r
patch and the implementation of a
physical agility test for new members. Search and Rescue's white house is placed on its new site adjacent to the heliport.
35
And 1986 brought an end to an era. Program(Drug Abuse Resistance elements of the criminal justice system.
Chief Earle Robitaille retired after Education) was implemented in the Themis, the Greek Goddess of Law
serving as the department head for 18 City of Huntington Beach and and Order, is the focal.point of the
years. Chief Robitaille brought many assigned two officers to the program badge because she represents the
innovative changes to the department, on a full time basis with plans to add relentless pursuit of all who trespass
including the 10-4 plan, K-9 program, more. The D.A.R.E. Program is an
computer aided dispatch, and attempt to provide kids with an
automatic vehicle locater system to understanding of how to say no to
name a few. drugs while feeling good about their ,
With Chief Robitaille's retirement, choice and about themselves. Q -
a nationwide search was undertaken The look of the department also
to find his replacement. More than 30 changed under Chief Payne's
prospective applicants entered the race leadership. On December 1, 1987 the
to become the 15th Chief of the uniform color was changed to blue . � ��` -
department. The field was narrowed and the management staff adopted a
to seven candidates, and after dress uniform. The tan uniforms worn
assessment, centered on three, for 46 years were put to rest. Along
including Captain G. L. Payne. After a with the uniform change came a
series of interviews, City change in the department badge. The
Administrator Charles Thompson new look is the idea of Chief Payne. � ..
selected 29-year veteran G. L. Payne The oval shield was chosen to
for the job. Chief Payne took his oath represent safety and protectiveness and
of office on April 17, 1987 being is bordered with fifty stars, -
sworn in by City Clerk Alicia representing the unity of the fifty
Wentworth. states, as well as the unification of the Badge worn until October, 1987
Chief Payne saw that the D.A.R.E. law enforcement effort with the other
SMA
" {: ��
�. 4 u t
P
�
� - Alit
2,6
» =, � �_ 'Ail
V, t
Ilk
° `F4 A IN
LIA
aVII IA
a, k
City Clerk Alicia Wentworth swears in Chief Bill Payne.
36
�4 on the rights of others. She is department.
blindfolded, holding balanced scales in On February 17, 1989, the police
OA one hand, representing the equality of department celebrated its 80th
ley justice, and a sword in the other hand anniversary. The changes that have
which represents the swift enforcement occurred with regard to law
of justice. Her inability to see enforcement in this 80 year period
represents impartiality, while the have been substantial. The police
overall symbolism is representative of department has 213 sworn officers and
the active administration, as well as 150 civilian employees.
� w the protective aspects of the law. The Organizationally, the department has
C[ Lady of Justice rests on a bed of five divisions and seven bureaus, four
�H lightening bolts which are symbolic of captains, eleven lieutenants and
UN' INsTUN strength and commitment. twenty-seven sergeants.
J The uniform is not the only thing to From Marshal Edmund C. Wright
M PQI+ICE _ change in 1989. The Administrative to Chief G. L. Payne, the department
` lobby and offices were remodeled and has met the challenges before it. It is a
the floor plan changed to better great department and one that all of
accommodate the needs of the who are part of it can be proud.
A new badge went into service October,
1987.
n
i
� k
r � r
The 1988 Staff at The Ritz Restaurant in Newport Beach. (Front row, L to R):Capt. Don Jenkins, Capt. Merle Schneblin, Lt. Bill Mamelli,
Chiefs Secretary Gloria Storovich, Chief Bill Payne, Lt. Gary Davis, Lt. John Foster and Lt. Ed Mc Erlain. (Back row):Lt. Pat Gildea, Lt.
Jack Reinholtz, Capt. Bruce Young, Lt. Chuck Poe, Capt. Barry Price, Lt. Mike Biggs, Lt. Roger Parker and Lt. Bob Morrison.
37
HUNTINGTON BEACH POLICE OFFICERS
GEORGE ABBOND LEE CAMP GUY DOVE EUCLE HILLIS
HANK ADAMS DAVID CARLISLE JAMES DOWLING W. M. HINES
BERT ADKINS J.BARRY CASE CARRIE DRAYER HENRY HITCHCOCK
OVRA AKIN PATRICK CASEY HEATHER DREYER DALE HITZEMAN
CHARLES ALQUIST DANIEL CATALANO ARTHUR DROZ CHARLES HOLLINGSWORTH
GEORGE AMOS SAM CATRABONE SUE DUKOVIC RICHARD HOOPER
RONALD ANDERSON BERT CHADWICK BEN DULANEY MICHAEL HORAN
C. J. ANDREWS TIMOTHY CHAMBERS JAMES DUNHAM BRAD HOUGH
HENRY ARCHER LEON CHENEY CORY DUDLEY JAMES HOWE
ROBERT ARCHEY ROWLEY CHOAT DAVID DURR DONALD HOWELL
STEVE AREBALO MICHAEL CHRIST STEPHAN DUTTON J. B. HUME
MARK ARMANDO TIM CHRISTENSEN ROLAND DeROCILI DAVID HUMPHREYS
C. E. ARNOLD PETER CHRISTEY CHUCK EANEFF WILLIAM HUNTER
JONATHAN ARNOLD GARY CHRISTIANSON LLOYD EDWARDS JEFF HUSS
THOMAS ARNOLD ROBERT CHRISTIE ROBERT EHRLE DONALD HUTCHINS
JEFFREY ARNOLD KIERAN CHUBA NICHOLAS EKOVICH J. H. IMAN
JAMES AUSTIN EDWARD CLAIR STEVEN EKSTEDT TIMOTHY INMAN
ALAN BALLARD MIKE CLARK BERT EKSTROM MICHAEL JACOBS
PERRY BALLARD PATRICK CLEMENS E. ERRINGTON ROBERT JEFFREY
ROY BALLARD ROBERT CLEMONS GERALD EVANS DONALD JENKINS
STEVE BALLOCH GILBERT COERPER W. L. EVANS RONALD JENKINS
ALVIN BANNISTER GEORGE COLEMAN NORM EVENSON KENNETH JENSON
ROBERT BARR KEVIN COLPEAN ROY FARBER DANIEL JOHNSON
WILLIAM BARTHELEMY CHARLES CONLOSH RICHARD FARRELL STEVEN JOHNSON
WILLIAM BATHE JOE CONSOLI DAVID FENN RANDY JONES
ARDEN BEAVERS T. SHANE CONWAY IRWIN FEUERSTEIN CRAIG JUNGINGER
JAMES BECK THOMAS CONWAY ARDEN FICK LA VERNE KELLER
WAYNE BEETEN JAMES COOPER ROBERT FICKLE RON KELLOGG
EUGENE BELSHE CURTIS COPE CHRIS FILICICCHIA BRUCE KELLY
FRED BENHAM MICHAEL CORCORAN DENNIS FORD MICHAEL KELLY
ROBERT BENNETT JAMES CORLEY HUGH FOSTER MICHAEL E. KELLY
FRED BERDELMAN THOMAS CORRELL JOHN FOSTER JOHN KENNEY
JOHN BERENS DOUG COSGROVE ALAN FRANCIS GEORGE KESTERSON
GAYLE BERGEY JOHN COTTRIEL JOHN FREEMAN C. H. KILLIAN
VAN BETHEA ROGER COWDREY EUGENE FRENCH DARRYL KIMMIS
ELVAN BIDDLE GEORGE COX AUGUST FROST JEFFREY KING
MICHAEL BIGGS JIMMY CRAVER JERRY FUHRMANN GENE KINUM
VALDON BIRKETT JERRY CRUSINBERRY STEVE FULLMER GARY KIRCHER
JOHN BLACKWELL HENRY CUADRAS DAVID GAMMELL VIRGINIA KIRKMEYER
DONALD BLOSSOM HERMAN CUMBY GEORGE GELZER DARRELL KLOPP
ROBERT BLURTON DARRELL CUMMINGS BRIAN GEROLD BRIAN KNORR
JAMES BOGDANOF JAMES CUTSHAW HOWARD GILBY KEITH KNOTEK
A. G. BOONE JAMES DAHL PATRICK GILDEA PHILLIP KONAN
JOHN BORGES DENNIS DAHLKE ART GILLESPIE CLIFFORD KRAUS
EUGENE BORWICK JOHN DALY THOMAS GILLIGAN WALTER KREBS
RAY BRADFIELD LEN DAMEROW MARK GILLMORE ERIC KREDEL
DENNIS BRANCH PAUL DARDEN JANE GOLDEN GARY KUNCL
LAWRENCE BRAZ LE ROY DARST DAVID GOSS JIM LAIL
RICHARD BRIGHT G. RICHARD DAUPHIN H.L. GRANT ROBERT LANCASTER
JAMES BRINK BRIAN DAVIDSON CHARLES GREGORY PAUL LANE
STEPHEN BRINKERHOFF BLAINE DAVIS EDDIE GROOM GREG LAWRENCE
EDWARD BRISTER EUGENE DAVIS JOSEPH GRUNDY JOHN LENNON
GARY BROOKS GARY DAVIS JOSEPH GUARNERA FORREST LEWIS
DEWAYNE BROWN ROBERT DAWSON SCOTT GUFFEY MIKE LIBUTTI
WILLIAM BRUCE FRANK DELGADILLO MALCOLM GULESERIAN BRIAN LINDLEY
CRAIG BRYANT RUDY DELGADO MICHAEL GUTSCH TERRY LINDSEY
JACK BULLAR EDWARD DEUEL ANDY GYURCSIK PRESTON LINKER
C. S. BUNDSCHUK FRED DEWITT GERRY HAMADA WILLIAM LINZENMEYER
DAVID BUNETTA ANDREW DICKEY RICHARD HANSEN ROBERT LIPOT
RONALD BURGESS JAMES DICKS MARK HANSON OLIS LOCKHART
MICHAEL BURKENFIELD MICHAEL DILLON FRED HARDEE DENNIS LORTON
RICHARD BUTCHER SHAWN DOBLE BERT HARDING DAN LOUGHLIN
MARC BUTLER THOMAS DONNELLY DENNIS 1HASHIN THOMAS LOVIN
LARRY CAIN JOHN DOOLEY EMERSON HASLET FRED LOYA
ROBERT CALABUIG CLARENCE DOUBLE RAYMOND HATTABAUGH STEVEN MACK
JAMES CALDWELL ROY DOUTHETT JOHN HAUSER JAMES MAHAN
CARL MALCHOW MARTIN O'REILLY ROBERT RUSSELL J. W. WALKER
RODGER MALTBY LUIS OCHOA HARRY SALLADE JAMES WALKER
WILLIAM MAMELLI STEVE ODOM PHILIP SANINE ROBERT WARDEN
RUSSELL MANGUM HERBERT OLDENBURG CARL SCHELLENGER JAMES WEAVER
JULIUS MANLEY PHILIP OLIVER JAMES SCHLOSSER JARRETT WEBB
BENTON MARBERRY LAWRENCE OLSON DONALD SCHMIER JERRY WEBB
ROBERT MARKS RICHARD ONSTOTT STEVEN SCHNARS JOHN WEBB
CHARLES MARTIN ROBERT OROSCO MERLIN SCHNEBLIN LYNN WEBSTER
DENNIS MARTIN STEVE OVERCAST CHRISTIAN SCHNEIDER JAMES WEHR
WILLIAM MARTIN JACK PAHOLSKI JOHN SELTZER JACK WELCH
R. L. MARTINDALE RONALD PALMER E. A. SHAFFER ROBERT WESTLAKE
SUSAN MARTINEZ ALFRED PARKER JAMES SHANDRICK D. H. WESTMORELAND
DALE MASON ELMER PARKER GREGORY SHANER WILLIAM WESTON
MONTY MAUNEY ROGER PARKER JIM SIDES PAUL WHITE
LARRY MAY STEPHEN PARKERTON ROBERT SISSUNG W. R. WHITMAN
HAROLD MAYS MICHAEL PATRICK BRUCE SMITH PHILIP WIGLEY
MIKE MAYS RON PATTINSON DENNIS SMITH MICHAEL WILLETT
BRUCE McALPINE THOMAS PATTON WALTER SNYDER E. M. WILLIAMS
ERNEST McCLINTOCK GROVER PAYNE WAYNE SOLEE MIKE WILLIAMS
PHIL McCREA RANDALL PAYNE ANTHONY SOLLECITO RICHARD WILLIAMS
EDWARD McERLAIN MICHAEL PERA C. F. SORENSEN ROBERT WILLIAMS
THOMAS McFARLAND ALAN PERLA GARY SORENSEN EDWARD WILSON
MONTY McKENNON WILLIAM PETERSON MICHAEL SORG JIM WILSON
DANIEL McKERREN DENNIS PLYMALE NEIL SPECTOR ALFRED WINFIELD
EDWARD McLAUGHLIN CHARLES POE RICHARD SPENCER R. H. WINSLOW
JAMES McLEAN HERBERT POE GARY SPERLING ROBERT WINSTEIN
RICHARD McMILLAN RONNEY POMEROY CHRIS SPURNEY C. M. WOOD
CLARENCE McMORRIES JIMMY PONTIUS FLOYD STAFFORD GAYLE WOOD
TERRENCE McCUISTION DARRELL POODRY JOHN STANTON THOMAS WOOD
WILLIAM MEERS GENE POOL WILLIAM STANTON WAYNE WOOD
ROBERT MENESES ED PRATT CHARLES STEWARD ORVILLE WOONER
JOHN MERTZ JOHN PRCHAL GEORGE STINSON CONRAD WORTHY
DENNIS METZGER ART PREECE IRA STOUT C. E. WRIGHT
GARY MEZA GREG PREECE BRUCE STRANGMAN CHUCK WRIGHT
PATRICK MIKEL MICHAEL PREECE WILLIAM C.STUART CLINT WRIGHT
D. LARRY MILLER J. BARRY PRICE WILLIAM M. STUART EDMUND WRIGHT
DAVID MILLER LARRY PRICE JOHN STUBBLEFIELD GARY WRIGHT
JEFF MILLER LESLIE PRINCE ROBERT SUTHERLAND RICHARD WRIGHT
RONALD MILLER RICHARD PRY JOHN SUTTLE SONIA YANEZ
GEORGE MILLER THOMAS QUICK TRIS SWAN BRUCE YOUNG
C. L. MITCHELL JACK RAND EDWARD SWIHART
GEORGE MITCHELL JAMES RANDEL JACK TAKEMOTO
VERN MOHN JAKE REED RONALD TALBOT
CHARLES MONTAGUE ROBERT REED DOUGLAS TALLMAN
BRIAN MOORE MICHAEL REILLY GEORGE TAYLOR
GREG MOORE RUSSELL REINHART EVERETT TEGLAS
ROBERT MORAN JACK REINHOLTZ JERRY TERKEURST
'JOHN MORBERG MICHAEL RELIC CHARLES THOMAS
FRANK MORRELLI MELVIN REMINGTON LEO THOMPSON
WILLIAM MORRIS GEORGE RENEK BRIAN TIDRICK
ROBERT MORRISON GEORGE REYNOLDS JACK TINSLEY
OWEN MOSIER MICHAEL REYNOLDS RANDALL TOBUREN
KREG MULLER DEBORAH RICHARD THOMAS TREMBLAY
WILLIAM MURPHY ROBERT RINEHART DONALD TRYON
CHARLES NADOLSKI ROY ROBERTS WALTER TURLEY
FRANK NAGLE HOWARD ROBIDOUX JAMES TYLER
MICHAEL NAKAMA HOWARD ROBINSON ED UFFELMAN
KEITH NALE LESTER ROBINSON ARLAND USSHER
IVAN NEAL CRAIG ROBISON WILLIAM VAN CLEVE
ROGER NEAL EARLE ROBITAILLE JOSEPH VAN COUTREN
JEFF NELSON J. L. RODMAN GILBERT VEINE
RICHARD NEMETH LEWIS ROSS KEVIN VIDAL
RICHARD NOLEN JAMES ROTHAERMEL CARLTON VIDANO
ROBERT NORDQUIST ROBERT ROYCE RAYMOND VILLESCAS
CHARLES NOWOTNY JAMES RUBIN ERVIN VINCENT
MITCHELL O'BRIEN • ELMER RUSSELL MARK WAITE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The project could not have been done without the help of
many people who shared their feelings, stories, photographs,
efforts and memories with me, and I thank all of them for their
assistance.
There are five people who are deserving of a special thanks
because of their special contributions. First, William Van Cleve,
who did the initial research and whose work provided a starting
point.
Second, Edwin Tinsley, whose father was the first Huntington
Beach Police Chief, for his help in clarifying the dates and events
of the early years. His patience in looking at hundreds of
photographs and identifying these pictures was truly special.
Third, Maureen Nugent deserves special recognition for her
consistently excellent and timely work in copying and
reproducing the more than two hundred photographs the
research uncovered.
Fourth, the energy and talents of Jo Anne Bonkowski should
not go unrecognized. Her work in preparing this document for
print was extraordinary.
Last, but not least, Chief Bill Payne, whose desire to preserve
the history, photographs, and traditions of the Department
culminated in this project.
LT. MICHAEL BIGGS