Motorcycle Officer Paul Lawrence Verna

Paul Lawrence Verna

Motor Cycle Officer Paul Verna of the Los Angeles Police Department was shot and killed after making a traffic stop of a vehicle containing two armed robbery suspects. One of the men shot Officer Verna once, then passed the revolver to the second subject, who shot him five more times.

Both men, both 26, and two women, both 25, were apprehended the next day. On October 2, 1985, both men were sentenced to death. As of December 3, 2022, both were still on death row.

Officer Verna was a United States Air Force veteran and served 14 years in law enforcement. On December 10, 1981, he rescued two boys with intellectual disability from a burning building. He is survived by his wife and two sons - both of whom went on to become LAPD police officers.