Los Angeles County Constable's Office, California
End of Watch: Wednesday, March 20, 1889
Age: 39
Tour of Duty: 1 year
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 17, 1889
Weapon Used: Handgun; .38 caliber
Suspect Info: Shot and killed
Constable Anton Harnischfeger succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained in Garvanza three days earlier while he and a posse attempted to arrest a man wanted for assaulting a child.
The man was a hermit who lived in a hut along the Arroyo Seco and was collecting driftwood that washing onto his property as the result of heavy rain. A woman and her daughter who lived above him were also starting collecting the wood but were confronted by the man and told to stop. When the woman went into her house the subject attacked the girl, punching her and clubbing her.
A warrant was issued for the man's arrest and Constable Harnischfeger wen to the man's home to serve it along with several citizens. When the man came to the door he immediately shot Constable Harnischfeger in the forehead with a .38 caliber revolver, fatally wounding him.
The man fled into South Pasadena but was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire with a pursuing posse of citizens.
Constable Harnischfeger had served as the Garvanza area constable for one year. He was survived by his wife and four children.