In early 1975, my transfer from Santa Cruz County to Los Banos in Merced County came through. I had worked approx. 2 years in the area where I grew up, but the high cost of housing was the main factor in a decision to transfer to the Central Valley of CA. Several months prior, we had purchased our first home in Los Banos, knowing that the transfer would be forthcoming.It was in early December of 1975, that an evening phone call sent shock waves through the small town of Los Banos. When I answered the phone at home, one of the on duty supervisors said that Al Turner had been shot, and "we're searching for the suspects". All of the available off duty officers were being called in to help with the search. Naturally, it didn't take me long to get to the office, pair up with another officer, and drive to the area where the search was being conducted.
By then, Officer Turner, who I had gotten to know quite well during the previous months, was at the hospital with 3 gunshot wounds. We learned that he had pulled a vehicle over on I5, because of a defective headlight. When the driver got out of the car, he walked back towards Al with a 357 magnum handgun hidden in his hand, and without warning or provocation, he opened fire, hitting Al 3 times. Al was able to draw his weapon, fire all 6 shots from his 38 revolver, hitting the suspect 5 times. When we later listened to the radio tapes of Al calling for help, it was amazing how calm he sounded. When help arrived at the scene, and the shooter was disarmed, both were taken to the hospital in Los Banos, and then transferred to larger hospitals that were able to treat traumatic injuries. In the chaos of the shooting, Al thought that perhaps a passenger had escaped into the night, and that was why we were called in to assist in the search. It turned out that the shooter was alone, and that he had just recently stolen the car.
During the next 14 days, there was a constant vigil at the hospital in Fresno, where the medical staff attempted to save Al's life. The most serious gunshot wound was to the abdomen, and infection (peritonitis) set in almost immediately. There wasn't an hour during those 2 weeks that there wasn't several of his fellow officers at the hospital with Al's wife Judy, and his 2 young children. During that time period, my days off were spent in Fresno at the hospital. After a 2 week battle for his life, Al lost the fight, and he died at the age of 35 years.
One of the injustices of this shooting incident, was that despite being shot 5 times, the suspect survived, and is still serving a life term in prison, courtesy of the taxpayers. If there was any good to come out of this tragedy, it was the recognition that CHP Departmental issue 38 caliber ball ammunition just didn't have the necessary stopping, or killing power. It wasn't long after Al Turner's death, that 38 caliber hollow point ammunition became standard issue, and perhaps in future shootings, made a difference. Many of us who carried 357 magnums, that had the capability of shooting either 38 or 357 ammunition, began loading our service revolvers with 357 magnum, hollow point ammunition. Even though this was not authorized by the department, we figured it would be better to be alive, and face criticism, than to be dead.
It was in mid December of 1975 that I lost a friend. From that point forward, a routine traffic stop, particularly for a defective headlight, was never again routine.
I will never forget that night or the two weeks that followed. That is one of the most defining moments, in my opinion, of all of our CHP family lives. We were such a tight knit group and that was so horrific. To this day, I shake just thinking about it. My mom spent the entire two weeks with Judy at the hospital. My grandparents lived a few blocks away, so they would go there to get a little sleep and clean up. Dad had to go to work, and the three of us kids were taken care of by other officer families. It was very scary as a child, because our fathers were still out there and the dangers were suddenly very, very real. What is particularly pathetic is that, up until a couple of years ago the animal that shot Al was coming up for parole on a bi-annual basis. However, California passed a new law, and because he created such an ugly stir at his last parole hearing, he will not be heard from again for another fifteen years. Hopefully he will be rotting in the ground by then. I still think of Al's son everyday. Brian had become like a brother to us. When Brian took his life in 92, I believed then and do to this day, that Hill, shot him, it just took him almost twenty years to die. Such a tragedy, unless you were there, you can't understand it.
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