Officer Larry L. Wetterling

Larry L. Wetterling

Officer Larry Wetterling was shot and killed when he stopped to help a motorist with a flat tire.

He did not know that the motorist was a convicted felon with a stolen car. The felon shot Officer Wetterling and fled in his patrol car. A few miles away he crashed into an embankment and then ran to a near-by gas station where he shot and killed the attendant. During a police search, the suspect shot and killed Lieutenant Alfred Stewart of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and wounded a civilian ride along. A passerby, who witnessed the shooting, shot and wounded the suspect.

The suspect was convicted of three counts of first degree murder and sentenced to death. His conviction was later overturned and commuted to life.

Officer Wetterling had been a member of the California Highway Patrol for six years.