Detective Sergeant John Fitzgerald, Los Angeles Police Department, California

Detective Sergeant John Fitzgerald

Los Angeles Police Department, California

End of Watch Saturday, June 18, 1921

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John Fitzgerald

Sergeant John Fitzgerald was shot and killed while leading a raid on a home that contained illegal liquor and narcotics.

Sergeant Fitzgerald was shot in the stomach during the raid and died as a result. The suspect, who had been arrested by Sergeant Fitzgerald in 1916, had been paroled from San Quentin Prison three months earlier, and had also served time in Folsum Prison in 1911 and 1913.

The suspect fled to Mexico where he was arrested in 1922 and returned to Los Angeles in February of 1923. He was convicted of Sergeant Fitzgerald's murder and sentenced to life in prison in June of 1923. In June of 1936 he was charged with another murder after evidence was discovered that he robbed and killed a pool hall operator minutes after he killed Sergeant Fitzgerald. He was found guilty of his murder and received another life sentence. In July of 1953 he was released from prison and deported to Mexico.

Bio

Age Not available
Tour Not available
Badge Not available

Incident Details

Cause Gunfire
Incident Date Not available
Weapon Gun; Unknown type
Offender Released in 1953

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His story was retold in the Dragnet radio episode “Attempted City Hall Bombing” and later radio episode “The Big Bomb” and a TV episode of the same name. The setting was changed to city hall, which hadn’t been built in 1912, but it is based on Detective Sergeant Fitzgerald’s historic action.

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August 4, 2024