Officer Richard David Kent
(Nov. 20, 1930 -- Dec. 8, 1960)

At about 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8, 1960, LAPD Officer Richard Kent, 30, and LAPD Det. Leon "Jeff" Poor, 37, assigned to the department's robbery detail, started their shift and drove out of the 77th Street Station at 7600 South Broadway in an unmarked car wearing plain clothes.

Shortly after they started their shift, Kent checked his equipment and shone his flashlight on the floor of their patrol car. Kent told Poor that he needed fresh batteries for his flashlight, so they stopped at the Lucky Auto Supply Store at 8656 South Broadway, a block south of Manchester Avenue, a couple of blocks east of the 110 Freeway, and less than a mile from the 77th Street Station. Kent, who was driving, parked at the curb on West 88th Place, north of the store, and went inside the store while Poor waited in the car, filling out the officers' daily activity log.

Kent and Poor considered the auto supply store to be a safe place. Kent knew the store manager, and both officers had done business there before.

When Kent walked into the store, he came upon an armed robbery in progress. An armed bandit was demanding that the store clerk open the cash register drawer. The cash drawer jammed and, while the clerk was attempting to open it, Kent entered the store.

Not realizing that Kent was a police officer, the armed robber ordered Kent to stand against a wall at the back of the store. Instead, Kent drew his service revolver and ordered the gunman to surrender. The robber fired first, hitting Kent in the chest with the bullet hiting him in the heart.

Despite his injuries, Kent emptied his revolver at the robber, hitting him in the shoulder, before the robber fled. Kent, though mortally wounded and trying to reload his revolver, was able to move to the front of the store before he fell. No money was taken in the attempted hold-up.

Poor heard the gunshots from inside the store, jumped out of the car and ran toward the store. He saw a man running out of the store with a gun in his hand, and Poor chased him west on West 87th Street, which quickly came to a dead end at the 110 Freeway.

Poor shouted for the gunman to stop, and fired a warning shot. The gunman jumped into a parked car, and Poor approached the driver. The gunman fired a shot toward Poor from the passenger side of the car, then both the driver and the gunman eventually surrendered to Poor and were taken into custody. Both had lengthy previous criminal records for burglary and robbery.

Both the gunman and the getaway driver gunman were convicted of first-degree murder in July 1961. The gunman was sentenced to the death penalty, and the driver was sentenced to life in prison.

In 1972, after the California State Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional, the gunman was paroled in June 1981.

Richard Kent was born Nov. 20, 1930, in Los Angeles, the eldest child of David Paul Kent, a truck driver for a grocery store, and Evelyn Elizabeth Orpin Kent. His younger sister, Nancy Evelyn Kent, was born Jan. 30, 1939.

After graduating from John C. Fremont High School in Los Angeles, Kent joined the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, serving on a submarine.

When he returned after his military service, Kent married Ohio native Mary Jane Denzer on April 28, 1951. The couple had three children -- Ruth Lynn, Mark and Lenore. Kent joined the LAPD in February 1954. At the time of Kent's death, Ruth Lynn was 9, Mark was 6, and Lenore was 4.

In August 1961, Kent was posthumously awarded the LAPD's Medal of Valor, the department's highest honor. Poor also received the Medal of Valor.

Officer Kent died less than two months after the death of his father, who died on Sept. 24, 1960, at the age of 53, from cancer.

Nearly 1,000 mourners, including about 500 LAPD officers, led by LAPD Chief William Parker, attended Kent's memorial service at the Utter-McKinley Chapel at 444 S. Vermont Ave., before Kent's burial at Inglewood Memorial Park.

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