POLICE

WILLIAM D. SMITH, MARSHAL

Marshal William D. Smith was shot and killed while attempting to arrest three males suspected of committing a burglary.

Marshal Smith found the three suspects asleep alongside a road and attempting to waken them. One of the men fired three shots into Marshal Smith’s body. The three suspects then fled the area on foot. One of the three suspects was captured a short while later as he hid in an adjacent arroyo.

NATHAN OSCAR LONGFELLOW, POLICE OFFICER

Officer Nathan O. Longfellow was shot on November 29, 1923 while attempting to transport a suspect to the City jail. He had been enroute to the jail with a suspect who had been arrested for disturbing the peace. Without warning, the suspect pulled out a gun from underneath his vest and fire three shots at Officer Longfellow. One of the rounds struck Officer Longfellow in the chest. 

Officer Longfellow immediately fell to the ground while the suspect was overpowered by infuriated citizens. Officer Longfellow lived for several days and eventually died from his injuries on December 2, 1923.

The defendant in this case was ultimately tried, convicted, and was executed by hanging at San Quentin Prison in 1925.

BENJAMIN MUSHANEY, SERGEANT

Sergeant Benjamin W. Mushaney was shot in the chest with a rifle bullet while responding to a landlord-tenant dispute in the 1300 block of Hollister Street. The shooting occurred at 11:20 in the morning and involved a female tenant attempting to obtain a $2.00 refund from the suspect, the landlord. 

As Sergeant Mushaney approached the front portion of the home, the suspect fired at him from an open window. The soft-nosed bullet struck Sergeant Mushaney in the chest, who then stumbled around the side of the house and collapsed, mortally wounded. The suspect then shot the female tenant, striking her in the back. The gunman barricaded himself in the residence and continued to shoot at responding officers and residents in the area. Officers from several jurisdictions arrived at the scene and eventually administered tear gas into the home. The suspect was ultimately shot and killed by officers as he fled the home on foot, still firing at officers.

DENNIS FRANK WEBB, POLICE OFFICER

Officer Dennis Frank Webb was fatally shot six times at close range by the man he stopped during the early morning hours of December 24, 1980. The suspect fit the description of an armed robber who had held up a 7-Eleven market in nearby Sylmar about 90 minutes earlier. The killer drove off in Officer Webb’s black and white patrol car, abandoning it in a park about eight miles from the shooting scene.

Two fellow officers were enroute to back up Officer Webb as he questioned the suspect when the gunfire erupted. They reached the fallen patrolman 90 seconds after his last radio transmission, but by that time the gunman was gone.

The officers carried Officer Webb to the patrol car, rushed him to Holy Cross Hospital about a half mile away. Officer Webb died in surgery at 5:50 a.m.

Officer Webb had survived the ordeal of Vietnam and had been honorably discharged from the Armed Forces in 1975. He was currently a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve.

JESSE KENNETH PADEREZ, POLICE OFFICER

Officer Jesse K. Paderez died on Wednesday, July 17, 2002 in the parking lot of the San Fernando Police Station after his handgun fell to the ground and fired, striking him in the head and fatally wounding him.

Paderez had apparently been carrying his holstered .45-caliber gun in his hands as he walked through the department parking lot transferring material from his private vehicle to his marked unit.

The entire San Fernando Police Department attended Jesse’s memorial service, in which Paderez spent his entire decade-long career. His co-workers described his dedication to family and the community, and recalled how he frequently joked that he’d spotted suspects the day before they were wanted.

Paderez, who spent the last decade as a patrol officer, was also a member of the San Fernando Police Department’s Special Response Team. He graduated in October 1992 from then Rio Hondo Police Academy, Class #110.

MICHAEL TIMOTHY SHORT

Reserve Police Officer Short was in the department locker room when he collapsed. As a result of the fall, Officer Short injured his knee. Because Officer Short’s blood pressure was extremely high, he was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for pain in his knee and monitored for high blood pressure. Officer Short was released from the hospital the next morning. While resting at home, on the same day that he was released from the hospital, Officer Short died in his sleep.

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