Ojai Police Department, California
End of Watch: Thursday, April 22, 1943
Age: 50
Tour of Duty: 10 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 11, 1943
Weapon Used: Handgun; .22 caliber
Suspect Info: Shot and killed
Constable Harry Hunt succumbed to complications of a gunshot wound sustained six weeks earlier when he was shot and killed by an escaped mental patient who had tried to rape a woman at Camp Barlett.
He and several citizens chased the suspect approximately three miles south to Steckel Park. He then followed the man down a 13-foot embankment when the subject shot him with a .22 caliber pistol. Constable Hunt was able to return fire and killed the man.
Constable Hunt was taken to the hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to his leg. He was released from the hospital several days later but died of complications of the gunshot wound while at home on April 22nd, 1943.
Constable Hunt was a United States Army WWI veteran. He had lost one of his arms in an industrial accident and was still appointed as constable because of his character. He was survived by his wife and three children.