San Francisco Police Department, California
End of Watch: Sunday, February 21, 1937
Age: 32
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: February 17, 1937
Weapon Used: Officer's handgun
Suspect Info: Committed
Officer Argens was shot and fatally wounded after a man acting irrationally took his gun. Officer Argens observed the suspect mumbling to himself and walking out in front of traffic in a downtown shopping district. Officer Argens took the suspect to a call box and called for a patrol wagon to pick them up.
While Officer Argens was calling for the wagon the suspect grabbed the officer’s gun and shot and killed him. Several civilians chased the suspect down the block, where he commandeered a truck and shot the driver. The suspect then jumped onto the running board to a limousine, where a civilian grabbed him and took the gun from his hand. Officer Argens died in a hospital four days later. The truck driver, 23, was admitted in a hospital in critical condition.
The 26-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and other charges. He was committed at Mendocino State Mental Hospital for the criminally insane. He was there in 1950.