Detective Curtis Clive Hagele

Curtis Clive Hagele

Detective Curtis Hagele was accidentally shot and killed by friendly fire while attempting to arrest a robbery suspect.

Detective Hagele and the SIS team were trailing a suspect and a female accomplice to the American Savings and Loan in Manhattan Beach, CA. The team took up hidden positions around the couple's car, suspecting the two were about to commit a holdup. When the suspect walked out of the bank, after taking an estimated $1,500 from a teller, the SIS team was waiting to close in on the robber.

The suspect fled, firing at officers, and ran up a flight of stairs leading to the upper deck of a parking structure where his getaway car was parked. Detective Hagele, chasing after the suspect, was struck in the crossfire just before simultaneous shotgun blasts killed the suspect.

Detective Hagele had served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 17 years. He was survived by his wife and two children.