Policeman Patrick J. Downey

Patrick J. Downey

Policeman P.J. Downey was shot and killed by a man he had just arrested.

He and his partner were investigating the recent bombing of the Los Angeles Times building and a nearby union office when they observed several men on a freight train. As they boarded the train Policeman Downey detained one as the others fled.

His partner was pursuing the other suspects when the subject Policeman Downey detained began to struggle with him. The man was able to disarm him and shot him in the chest, fatally wounding him.

The man, 33, was arrested a short distance away. He was convicted of Policeman Downey's murder and sentenced to life in prison. He was transferred to the state insane asylum in 1925.