In Memoriam

Lester H. Cole

Reserve Officer Lester Cole was laying flares at an accident scene when he was struck and killed by the driver of an automobile. The driver reported he never saw the officer.

Officer Cole was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Merchant Marines. He had served as a reserve officer with the Palo Alto Police Department for 14 years and was survived by his wife and children.

Gene A. Clifton

Officer Gene Clifton died as a result of a gunshot wound received on October 1, 1971.

Officer Clifton was fatally wounded during a joint operation with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Palo Alto Police Department. A team of officers were attempting to execute a search warrant at a residence. The officers were already inside the residence when a suspect fired shots at the officers and ran into a bedroom. Officer Clifton was standing outside the bedroom when the suspect continued shooting, and a bullet went through the wall and struck him in the abdomen. Another Palo Alto officer shot and seriously wounded the suspect.

The autopsy report listed the cause of death as undetermined, so the suspect, 36, was not charged with murder. On April 27, 1972, he was convicted of four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, a felon in possession of a firearm, and sentenced to 6 to 15 years.

Officer Clifton had served with the Palo Alto Police Department for four years. He is survived by his wife, parents, and two sisters.

Theodore Herman Brassinga

Reserve Officer Theodore Brassinga was accidentally shot and killed during a multi-agency training exercise aboard an Amtrak train for the 1994 World Cup Soccer tournament. The officers in the exercise were supposed to have unloaded weapons.

Officer Brassinga had served with the Palo Alto Police Department for 1 year

He is survived by his wife and son.