Patrolman Dennis Glenn Gonzales

My brother and I didn’t know your name at the time we met, you see we stopped on the freeway when we saw an officer lit by his patrol car spot light lying on the roadway, on the not yet opened part of I-8. We pulled over and I went to the patrol car and radioed “officer down “ my brother checked for a pulse as we heard sirens erupting around the area responding to the call for assistance.

We waited for hours there at the crime scene with many officers. We were informed that a woman who was having a ticket written by officer Gonzalez had called in to report that she was there when he was hit. Hours later the hit and run driver was found at a local restaurant claiming he had fallen asleep at the wheel and was arrested.

A special man, a family man, a dedicated police officer who’s life was cut short while doing his duty has been remembered in these posts.
It has been 44 years since this tragic incident, we were the same age at the time of his passing. I still remember that fateful night and wish I had known officer Gonzalez and his family as others on this site were so fortunate to have known him.
These memories and statements from those close to Dennis show not only that he is missed but that he is loved and not forgotten.

Robert Schmitt
Final witness

September 11, 2023