The Constable for the Town of Garvanza, (present day Los Angeles), Harnischfeger was killed in the line of duty during a domestic dispute.
On March 17, 1889, a local drifter named B.G. Sprague hit a neighbor girl Ida Lightener with a wooden stick. Sprague, who lived in a shack on the Arroyo Seco River, was known as a disturbed person and often got into conflicts with neighbors. The family filed a complaint, a warrant was issued, and Constable Harnischfeger, joined by four local men whom he deputized, went to the Sprague home to arrest him.
Sprague shot the constable in the head when he kicked open the door. He engaged the others in a gunfight and fled up the Arroyo. Dozens of local men went into pursuit on horseback and foot, eventually killing him.
Note: The constable system was later converted to the police agency that covered that area. Constable Harnischfuger would now be considered a member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department since at the time of his murder, he patrolled and protected an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County.
On March 17, 1889, a local drifter named B.G. Sprague hit a neighbor girl Ida Lightener with a wooden stick. Sprague, who lived in a shack on the Arroyo Seco River, was known as a disturbed person and often got into conflicts with neighbors. The family filed a complaint, a warrant was issued, and Constable Harnischfeger, joined by four local men whom he deputized, went to the Sprague home to arrest him.
Sprague shot the constable in the head when he kicked open the door. He engaged the others in a gunfight and fled up the Arroyo. Dozens of local men went into pursuit on horseback and foot, eventually killing him.
Note: The constable system was later converted to the police agency that covered that area. Constable Harnischfuger would now be considered a member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department since at the time of his murder, he patrolled and protected an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County.
The Constable for the Town of Garvanza, (present day Los Angeles), Harnischfeger was killed in the line of duty during a domestic dispute.
On March 17, 1889, a local drifter named B.G. Sprague hit a neighbor girl Ida Lightener with a wooden stick. Sprague, who lived in a shack on the Arroyo Seco River, was known as a disturbed person and often got into conflicts with neighbors. The family filed a complaint, a warrant was issued, and Constable Harnischfeger, joined by four local men whom he deputized, went to the Sprague home to arrest him.
Sprague shot the constable in the head when he kicked open the door. He engaged the others in a gunfight and fled up the Arroyo. Dozens of local men went into pursuit on horseback and foot, eventually killing him.
Note: The constable system was later converted to the police agency that covered that area. Constable Harnischfuger would now be considered a member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department since at the time of his murder, he patrolled and protected an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County.
On March 17, 1889, a local drifter named B.G. Sprague hit a neighbor girl Ida Lightener with a wooden stick. Sprague, who lived in a shack on the Arroyo Seco River, was known as a disturbed person and often got into conflicts with neighbors. The family filed a complaint, a warrant was issued, and Constable Harnischfeger, joined by four local men whom he deputized, went to the Sprague home to arrest him.
Sprague shot the constable in the head when he kicked open the door. He engaged the others in a gunfight and fled up the Arroyo. Dozens of local men went into pursuit on horseback and foot, eventually killing him.
Note: The constable system was later converted to the police agency that covered that area. Constable Harnischfuger would now be considered a member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department since at the time of his murder, he patrolled and protected an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County.
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