Hollywood Remains to Be Seen
LAPD Street Signs
In May 2014, the city of Los Angeles unveiled a project to put up specially designed street signs to recognize and honor the more than 200 officers of the Los Angeles Police Department who have died in the line of duty. The signs are posted at or near the locations where each of the officers were killed, or at the Los Angeles Police Academy, at 1880 Academy Drive, near Dodger Stadium, in Elysian Park.
The Police Academy sign currently includes the names of 20 officers who died outside of Los Angeles, with the individual signs pointing toward the location where each officer died.
The memorial sign project was a joint effort of the LAPD, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) and District 12 Councilmember Mitch Englander, chairman of the City Council's Public Safety Committee.
Each sign will have a designated number, the name of the officer, and the date they were killed, and the public will soon be able to go to a memorial website to learn more about the deceased officers, their service, and their sacrifice.
On this website, we'll periodically add photos of the signs as we find them, along with the stories of the officers.
So, why am I doing this? I'm not LAPD or LEO. I'm just a civilian. I don't have any personal interest or involvement in the LAPD. I just want to honor and remember all the men and women who honorably and selflessly sacrificed their lives to protect and defend the residents of Los Angeles, as well as honor all of the men and women who currently risk their lives every day to keep us safe.
If you happen to notice one of the LAPD memorial signs while you drive through the city, remember that a police officer gave his or her life at that location, to protect you, or your parents, or your grandparents, or your fellow residents. Before you drive away, stop and think about that for a minute.
I started this website to promote my book about celebrities who are buried in the cemeteries of Los Angeles. Beyond movie and TV stars, there are others who deserve even more to be honored and remembered.
More than 200 LAPD officers have died in the line of duty. They were sons and daughters, wives and husbands, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, friends and neighbors. They are true heroes. They deserve to be remembered for their lives, their service and their sacrifice, and they should never be forgotten. That's what this page is for.
As we recount the stories of the officers' lives and their tragic deaths, we will never mention the names or otherwise identify their killers. That information might be available elsewhere, but it will never be available here. These pages are intended to honor the fallen officers and their memory, not to publicize, glorify or even mention their killers.
And for all of the current and former law enforcement officers in Los Angeles, across the country and around the world, thank you for your service. We owe you a debt that we can never repay.
More LAPD memorial street signs (stories to come)
A Guide to the Movie Stars' Final Homes
Officer Clyde A. May (April 29, 1879 -- Feb. 28, 1907)
Officer Patrick Henry Lyons (May 1887 -- Nov. 30, 1907)
Capt. Walter H. Auble (Nov. 26, 1862 -- Sept. 9, 1908)
Officer David Brooks (March 6, 1872 -- April 8, 1910)
Officer Arthur Bernard Crusey (August 1887 -- May 28, 1911)
Officer Cecil S. Bowman (May 8, 1878 -- June 8, 1911)
Officer James Palistine Wylie (Aug. 4, 1881 -- Nov. 29, 1911)
Officer Floyd C. Eiler (Dec. 30, 1885 -- Dec. 25, 1911)
Officer James Francis Crehan (June 1, 1881 -- March 31, 1914)
Officer Robert Vernon Murray (July 14, 1890 -- Sept. 24, 1914)
Sgt. John Francis "Frank" Toolen (March 3, 1875 -- Oct. 19, 1915)
Det. Sgt. James Edward Browning (Feb. 26, 1877 -- Nov. 29, 1915)
Officer Walter Roy Kreps (Aug. 29, 1887 -- March 28, 1916)
Officer Thomas Joseph Kronschnabel (Dec. 22, 1879 -- Dec. 15, 1916)
Officer James A. Ellsworth (Oct. 22, 1886 -- Sept. 4, 1917)
Officer Ormiel E. Barney (June 17, 1879 -- Nov. 21, 1917)
Det. Sgt. Patrick Joseph Downey (Sept. 22, 1883 -- Feb. 18, 1919)
Officer Joseph James Romero Jr. (June 11, 1886 -- Sept. 23, 1919)
Officer Donald Cary Hathaway (Feb. 22, 1894 -- May 24, 1920)
Officer William Louis Brett (Dec. 23, 1882 -- Dec. 6, 1921)
Officer Levi "Harry" Clester (Jan. 20, 1891 -- Dec. 7, 1921)
Officer Vernon Oliver Dinsmore (Aug. 14, 1899 -- Nov. 4, 1922)
Officer Charles Perry Williams Sr. (March 3, 1887 -- Jan. 13, 1923)
Officer Arthur "Archie" Cruse (April 1899 -- Jan. 22, 1923)
Officer Glenn E. Bond (Oct. 26, 1897 -- Feb. 20, 1924)
Officer Edward E. Wilhoit (Nov. 18, 1888 -- Aug. 20, 1924)
Officer Arthur Lloyd Davenport (Nov. 10, 1891 -- May 16, 1926)
Sgt. Judson D. "Judd" Cornwall (March 15, 1877 -- July 10, 1926)
Officer Parley Leroy "Pat" Bennett (March 11, 1894 -- Jan. 25, 1927)
Officer John Volberg Wicks (March 27, 1898 -- March 23, 1927)
Officer James Henry Carter (March 31, 1891 -- March 18, 1928)
Officer John M. Brinnegar (1899 -- Sept. 29, 1928)
Officer John McQuaide Schomaker (June 1896 -- Feb. 27, 1929)
Officer William Howard Marple (June 13, 1893 -- Feb. 27, 1929)
Officer James C. Costello (1901 -- March 31, 1930)
Officer Peter Muller Jr. (May 20, 1901 -- April 13, 1930)
Officer Verne Alden Brindley (March 12, 1901 -- May 10, 1930)
Officer James L. Beck (June 24, 1901 -- Jan. 28, 1931)
Det. Lt. Hugh Alden Crowley (Jan. 31, 1895 -- Jan. 11, 1932)
Officer Paul Donath (1898 -- April 28, 1932)
Det. Lt. Paul Truman Lee (1900 -- Dec. 20, 1932)
Officer Russell A. Leidy (July 28, 1898 -- July 24, 1934)
Officer Owen David Yancey (Oct. 2, 1899 -- Oct. 20, 1935)
Officer Clyde Pritchett (Dec. 31, 1894 -- Feb. 17, 1936)
Officer Earl John Bickel (July 15, 1899 -- Aug. 30, 1937)
Det. Lt. George Colison Howard (Dec. 3, 1891 -- May 22, 1938)
Officer William George Brown (March 27, 1901 -- Sept. 13, 1939)
Officer Orley Otho Sanner (Oct. 15, 1895 -- May 26, 1940)
Officer Ferris Eugene Stansell (March 12, 1898 -- July 11, 1941)
Officer Norbert John "Bert" Huseman (May 6, 1912 -- Dec. 31, 1945)
Officer John Wyatt "Jack" Harris (Dec. 10, 1910 -- Feb. 1, 1946)
Officer Walter Henry Kesterson (May 13, 1894 -- Feb. 4, 1946)
Officer Frank George Panek (Nov. 14, 1920 -- April 14, 1947)
Det. Sgt. John William "Tommy" Milton (Nov. 9, 1898 -- May 16, 1949)
Officer Roland Eldo White (Oct. 30, 1923 -- May 11, 1950)
Sgt. Marvin Wayne Haney (Nov. 14, 1920 -- Feb. 15, 1952)
Det. Clay Noble Hunt (Sept. 9, 1912 -- Feb. 22, 1955)
Officer Leo Wise (March 5, 1923 -- March 17, 1957)
Officer Thomas Scebbi (Nov. 2, 1933 -- June 20, 1958)
Officer Charles Emerson Bogardus (May 13, 1918 -- April 6, 1959)
Officer Sidney Z. Riegel (July 26, 1916 -- May 6, 1961)
Officer Charles Frederick Hallenbeck (April 20, 1934 -- July 26, 1962)
Sgt. Charles Paul Monaghan Jr. (March 24, 1926 -- Feb. 1, 1964)
Officer Robert Marvin Endler (Dec. 12, 1926 -- Feb. 1, 1964)
Officer Malcolm Leroy Beaty (Dec. 23, 1940 -- Aug. 29, 1966)
Officer Alex Nestor "Nick" Ilnicki (Aug. 1, 1920 -- Aug. 30, 1966)
Officer Lawrence Douglas "Larry" Amberg (Oct. 22, 1938 -- Aug. 30, 1966)
Officer Keith Gregory DuPuis (March 6, 1939 -- Oct. 27, 1966)
Officer Roger Renick Warren Jr. (May 25, 1943 -- May 8, 1967)
Officer Oscar Joel Bryant (Jan. 8, 1942 -- May 13, 1968)
Officer Gary Wayne Murakami (Jan. 19, 1945 -- Sept. 9, 1968)
Officer Robert J. Cote, Sr. (April 24, 1946 -- July 31, 1969)
Officer Gerald Wilson "Jerry" Maddox (May 18, 1943 -- Aug. 19, 1969)
Officer Fred Houston Early (June 9, 1941 -- March 23, 1973)
Officer Michael Lee Edwards (Aug. 26, 1948 -- May 11, 1974)
Officer Zlatko Nicholai "Nick" Sintic (Oct. 23, 1942 -- Feb. 12, 1976)
Officer David Brian Kubly (June 1, 1956 -- Sept. 27, 1979)
Technical Reserve Officer Stuart Shigeru Taira (Dec. 25, 1954 -- March 1, 1983)
Officer Paul Lawrence Verna (Oct. 6, 1947 -- June 2, 1983)
Officer Duane Curtis "Duey" Johnson (Dec. 10, 1957 -- Dec. 19, 1984)
Officer Ronald Lawrence Ball (Dec. 12, 1942 -- Feb. 8, 1986)
Det. Arleigh Eugene McCree (Dec. 24, 1939 -- Feb. 8, 1986)
Officer James Clark Beyea (Dec. 19, 1963 -- June 7, 1988)
Officer Tina Frances Zapata Kerbrat (Feb. 9, 1957 -- Feb. 11, 1991)
Officer Christy Lynne Hamilton (July 25, 1948 -- Feb. 22, 1994)