Officer David Brian Kubly
(June 1, 1956 – Sept. 27, 1979)

Late on the evening of Monday, Sept. 26, 1979, 23-year-old rookie LAPD Officer David Brian Kubly -- 15 months after his graduation from the Los Angeles Police Academy -- was driving alone on Crenshaw Boulevard. He was in a "report car" -- assigned to drive around the city and assist two-officer cars with writing up police reports and other tasks to give the two-officer cars time to work on other incidents. Report cars are not typically assigned to any other duties.

At about 11:05 p.m., Kubly saw a car run a red light at high speed at Crenshaw and Olympic boulevards, activated his lights and siren, and gave chase at speeds approaching 65 mph southbound on Crenshaw.

What Kubly didn’t know was that the driver of the car he was chasing had stolen a car earlier that evening from a rental agency in Inglewood, gotten into a collision with another car in Inglewood, robbed a bystander at the accident scene, stole the bystander’s car, then drove to Hollywood where he robbed a movie theater.

After a chase of almost two miles down Crenshaw, the driver in the stolen car attempted to turn onto 28th Street, lost control, and skidded into an auto parts store. Kubly stopped his squad car behind the fleeing car, and approached the vehicle.

The other driver crawled through a window of his damaged car, and fired two shots at Kubly with a 9-mm semi-automatic pistol. Both shots missed. Kubly returned fire, but also missed. The driver fired three more shots, and one hit Kubly in the chest. Kubly fired again as he fell, but again missed.

The driver fled the scene, bleeding from a head wound suffered in the crash at the auto parts store. Officers searching the area found fresh blood stains on the driveway of a nearby house, and arrested the driver hiding in a shed behind the house at about 8 a.m. the following morning.

Kubly was taken to Brotman Memorial Hospital in Culver City, where he died during surgery early the following morning.

David Brian Kulby was born June 1, 1956, in San Pablo, Calif., north of Oakland. His family moved to Southern California, and he graduated from St. Francis High School in La Canada in 1974.

Three years later, on April 2, 1977, Kubly, 20, married Janice L. Gearhart, 19, in Los Angeles, and the young couple lived in Glendale. The following year, Kubly enrolled at the Los Angeles Police Academy. He graduated on June 28, 1978, and was assigned to the Wilshire Division. While a police officer, Kubly was also a student at Glendale College, taking courses in business administration.

In March 1980, Kulby’s killer pled guilty to murder, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is currently serving his sentence at Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, Calif.

Kubly’s funeral service was held at the Wilshire Division police station, with Cardinal Timothy Manning, archbishop of the Los Angeles Diocese, presiding. He was buried at Forest Lawn Glendale.

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