Policeman Ernest Wylie Smith

Ernest Wylie Smith

Policeman Wylie Smith succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained the previous day while he and other officers attempted to arrest bank robbery suspects.

A motorcycle officer pursued the suspects until the men stopped the car and exited. The suspects opened fire on the motorcycle officer and other officers who were arriving on the scene. The motorcycle officer was wounded in the hip, and Policeman Smith suffered a fatal shot to his chest.

One of the suspects was shot and killed, one was wounded and taken into custody, and two others escaped from the scene.

The other two suspects were apprehended in Chicago, Illinois, several days later. Two of the suspects were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life. On January 22, 1934, one hanged himself with a bed sheet in his cell at Folsom Prison.

Policeman Smith was a United States Navy veteran and had served with the Los Angeles Police Department for two years. He was survived by his mother, three sisters, and a brother.