Hero #28: Officer Osborn A. Lyon, Oakland Police Department

In the early Sunday morning hours of August 19, 1931, motorcycle Patrolman Osborne A. Lyon was
patrolling the streets of East Oakland. While on Foothill Boulevard he observed a vehicle driving at a high rate of speed and gave chase. When Patrolman Lyon reached the intersection of 60th Avenue and Foothill, he sideswiped a truck and was thrown to the street. He suffered a fractured skull and other injuries.

He was transported to Highland Hospital for emergency treatment. Despite the efforts of medical personnel and blood transfusions, Lyon lost his fight for life at 7 A.M. Osborne A. Lyon, age 29, joined the Department on August 1, 1929. He had just been transferred to the Traffic Bureau. He was survived by his wife and child.

While doing the research on these heroes the goal was to determine if their final resting place had a marker. Osborne Lyon was the last of the of the 52 Oakland Police Department heroes we researched. We were aware he is at Mountain View cemetery in Oakland but we were unable to determine his exact location, even with a provided plot map. It appeared we were going to have one more unmarked grave, as the area of the plot we believed him to be in was all grass.

Mountain View's General Manager Jeff Lindeman assigned Building and Grounds Supervisor Craig A. Nuchols to the search. Using other grave markers as points of reference, Craig measured by pacing until he arrived at what he believed to be the exact spot. After a few pokes into the ground with his shovel, he struck something solid. He dug several inches into the recently rained-upon soil and there it was - the grave marker for Osborne A. Lyon, who had essentially been buried twice; once as a result of his tragic incident and once by the passage of time. See the photos below.

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Unmarked graves: Hero #38, Officer Donald O. Nielson, Oakland Police Department

On Thursday March 22nd, 1951 patrolman Donald O. Nielson was on-duty working as a solo motorcycle officer. He resided in the city of San Leandro, and made a trip home to check on his ailing wife. At approximately 7:30 pm he was on his way back to Oakland when he approached the intersection of 140th avenue and MacArthur boulevard. Neilson swerved to avoid hitting a turning motorist. He lost control of the motorcycle and was thrown 52 feet, striking his head on the pavement. He was transported to Merritt hospital and treated for skull fractures sustained in the accident. Neilson never regained consciousness and died three hours later.

Officer Nielsen was 28 years old and had received his appointment to the Department on February 14, 1947. He was survived by his wife (who was pregnant at the time of the accident) and two boys.

We found that Donald O. Nielson lies in an unmarked grave at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland (photo below). Thanks to your donations, Officer Nielson now has a the grave marker he has long deserved.   

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Unmarked graves: Hero #34, Officer Wallace J. Muscovich, Oakland Police Department

In 1943, the Second World War was in full swing. The draft called upon thousands of men to enter military service for the war effort. This left the work forces of many industries short handed. Local law enforcement agencies were not exempt and many police officers were called upon to go to war. In an effort to fill the many vacancies, the Oakland Police Department hired many to the position of temporary police patrolman, or "emergency patrolman". They were also known as "duration" officers, the idea being they would serve with OPD through the duration of the war (the first african-american policemen at OPD were hired through this process). In June of 1943, Wallace John Muscovich was hired by OPD as a duration officer. 

On April 17th, 1944 a 19 year old from Berkeley, Frank Jersey, entered a clothing store at Tenth and Franklin streets with robbery as his intent. His attempt was met with resistance, at which point he twice fired his handgun, striking the store owner. Muscovich, who was off duty and in the area, heard the gunshots. He saw Jersey flee from the store where he was joined by a female companion. They ran southbound on Franklin. The Oakland Tribune wrote:  "The officer commandeered a passing car, leaped on the running board and gave chase." The girl disappeared somewhere on Ninth Street, and Muscovich followed Jersey into a hotel at 472 Eighth Street, near Washington Street. They met on the second floor where gunshots rang out. When the smoke cleared, Jersey had managed to hit Muscovich twice, while Muscovich felled the young robber with three shots that proved fatal. 

Muscovich was rushed to Merritt Hospital where he received treatment over the next several days, including many fellow officers giving blood for transfusions. The treatments proved futile, as Wallace Muscovich died on April 24th from his injuries. It is important to read this Oakland tribune editorial about the incident, which is a validation of the bravery exhibited by the peace officers who daily risk their lives in the community’s service.

We were able to determine Muscovich was interred at Mountain View Cemetery. After obtaining his location, we found that he was without a grave marker. Your donations ensured Oakland Police Duration Officer Wallace John Muscovich now has a grave marker to honor the heroism he displayed in the incident that took his life.  

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Unmarked grave of Wallace J. Muscovich - Mountain View cemetery

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Unmarked graves: Hero #13, Deputy Sheriff Andrew W. Lindquist

In late 1908 or early 1909, the citizens of the town of Ocean View (later to become Albany) petitioned Frank Barnet, the Sheriff of Alameda County for a deputy to patrol that area. Andrew W. Lindquist, 28, was appointed as a deputy sheriff to serve without pay and was assigned as a night watchman. As a night watchman, he would have been paid by the merchants for his services. His duties included making the rounds of the cafes, saloons and other open businesses to conduct security checks. He likely was also hired to monitor the town's border with Berkeley due to an ongoing dispute over garbage dumping. (1) Over the course of the next year Lindquist gained a reputation as "a man of enormous proportions and herculean strength, (and) he has gained considerable fame as a dispenser of justice without the aid of weapon or club..." wrote the San Francisco Call. 

In the early morning of January 12th, 1910 Lindquist stopped in at Moore's Saloon located on San Pablo near Dartmouth (see map below) and stood by as Al Moore prepared to close. Lindquist stood to one side of the bar as Moore tended to the register. The front door suddenly opened and a man rushed in and quickly made his way to the bar. He was dressed in a long overcoat, hat, and a red bandana handkerchief across his face that was knotted at the back of his neck. Pointing a revolver, he commanded of Moore, "Hands up!" As Moore complied, Lindquist, who had gone unseen by the robber, struck the robber with an umbrella in an attempt to disarm him. The move failed and the robber spun toward Lindquist. He fired one shot that struck Lindquist in the right shoulder. The bandit made his way to the door and before fleeing, fired a second round at Lindquist which hit him in the abdomen. Moore retrieved a weapon of his own and fired at the perpetrator as he fled, but to no avail as the robber made good his escape. Lindquist died from his injuries the following day. Sheriff Barnet offered a $100 reward for the capture of the murderer, an amount matched by the Albany city council. Read an account of the incident from the San Francisco Call here.

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What in fact may have cost him his life was noted in the following reflection from the Oakland Tribune: "...though frequently called upon to make arrests, he never, according to his friends, carried a gun". The suspect was caught several months later and charged with several other murders, including a Santa Clara county deputy sheriff. As has happened on many an occasion in the history of criminals, the capture of the suspect was aided by a scorned lover.

During our research we discovered that deputy sheriff Andrew W. Lindquist was in an unmarked grave at Sunset View cemetery in El Cerrito. We found the cemetery record reflects the then mayor of Albany, Frank J. Roberts, paid $60 for Lindquist's gravesite. This project saw to it that Deputy Lindquist now has a grave marker that properly honors his sacrifice .

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Scott Pennington, the General Manager of Sunset View cemetery in El Cerrito, points to the unmarked grave of Andrew W. Lindquist

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(1) Ocean View incorporated in September of 1908, having previously been an unnamed, unincorporated area of Alameda County's Oakland Township. Residents had an ongoing dispute with the city of Berkeley because the city "scavengers" (garbage crew) were dumping the city's garbage along the waterfront north of where Golden Gate fields is today. The "garbage wars" culminated in April of 1908 with a high profile standoff where 20 women armed with shotguns blocked Berkeley's garbage wagons from traveling to the dumping area. Ocean View incorporated as a town for the initial sole purpose of creating laws forbidding Berkeley from dumping garbage there. About a year later the name of the town was changed to Albany. 

Unmarked graves: Hero #24, Officer Timothy Duane, Oakland Police Department

On April 9th, 1930, 24 year Oakland Police Department veteran Timothy Duane was standing in the roadway directing traffic at the intersection of 10th avenue and E. 14th street (now International Blvd). At about 7:30 pm he was struck by an automobile and hurled 30 feet into the path of another vehicle, which also struck him. Duane suffered massive injuries and was taken to Providence hospital. Nine days later on April 18th, Duane succumbed to his injuries. Per the Alameda County Coroner, Duane died from "cerebral hemorrhage due to fractured skull with other traumatism (suffered from the collision)". Duane was 59 years old. See Oakland Tribune article here.

Timothy Duane, badge #55

Duane's sacrifice had seemingly been overlooked in OPD's history until a letter arrived at the Office of the Chief of Police in February 2012. Duane's great-granddaughter wrote to point out that Duane was not included on the memorial wall in the lobby of the Oakland Police Department administration building. She sent supporting documents including a copy of his death certificate, in which was written that he suffered injuries "...while on duty as a traffic policeman of the City of Oakland, in the street and accidentally struck by an automobile...". An investigation was conducted by the Oakland Police Officer's Association, verifying indeed that Timothy Duane was killed in the line of duty and as such, deserved the appropriate recognition. His name was inscribed on the memorial wall and he was honored in May of 2013 at the annual Oakland Police Officer's Association / Oakland Police Department Memorial honoring those that gave their lives in the line of duty.

During our research we determined that Timothy Duane had been interred at St. Mary's cemetery in Oakland, per the Oakland Tribune's obituary. After St. Mary's staff confirmed his resting place, we found his grave to be unmarked (photo below). With the help of your donations, the final resting place of policeman Timothy Duane now has a deserving marker.

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The 1898 "Melrose Incident" - Spectacular explosion claims Heroes #4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

A dispute over a 25 cents seven spot Chinese lottery ticket (known as Keno today) and $48 in winnings. Quong Chung, a resident of the village of Melrose got into a dispute at his residence with Quong Tan, a resident of Alameda, from whom Chung purchased the ticket. Along with 23 other immigrant Chinese, Chung resided in company housing on the property of his employer, the Western Fuse and Explosives Company. The premises were located at the corner of Clark and A streets (now Coliseum Way and 45th avenue, respectively), within the Township of Brooklyn (later incorporated into Oakland). The dispute elevated to Chung taking a hatchet to Tan, then finishing him off with a gunshot. Chung fled to his workplace and barricaded himself in the magazine, a building that reportedly contained up to five tons of gunpowder. Chung threatened to blow up the magazine if anyone came near. 

Alameda County deputy sheriffs as well as area constables and town marshals converged on the scene. Alameda County in 1898 had approximately 10 deputies so it was commonplace for area peace officers to assist when needed. National Guard volunteers of the 8th regiment from nearby Camp Barrett (at Fruitvale) also responded to assist. The posse dispatched by Sheriff Calvin B. White was led by his son deputy Charles White and included his brothers, deputies Al and Ed White, deputies George Woodsum, John J. Lerri, Daniel C. Cameron, Fred Sherrott, the constable for Oakland Township Gustave "Gus" Koch and others.

The law-enforcers kept watch on the premises and negotiated throughout the day and night with Chung, who steadfastly refused to come out of the building while repeating his promise to blow up the magazine if anyone neared him. A Chinese coworker (Chung's supervisor) acted as an interpreter and intermediary during negotiations, as Chung did not want law enforcement officers to approach him. At one point during the night, Chung requested water. It was suggested to deputy Charles White that the water should be "doped" (with morphine). White dismissed the suggestion. That decision may well have determined the eventual outcome. The San Francisco Call newspaper put it succinctly: "His misplaced idea of humanity cost him and his grave companions their lives." 

Just after 5:00 a.m. Chung opened the door to the magazine and stepped out, indicating he wished to surrender. Deputy Charles White told Chung he would not be harmed, and the deputy along with constable Koch and deputy Lerri began to approach Chung to effect the arrest. Chung suddenly turned and ran back into the magazine, slamming the door behind him. Seconds later at 5:18 a.m. the most sensational explosion in the history of Alameda County occurred. The Western Fuse and Explosives Company was completely destroyed along with more than two dozen nearby homes and businesses. Windows were broken out miles away and the blast was felt as far south as San Jose, where residents believed an earthquake had occurred. The blast took the lives of Alameda County deputies Charles White and John J. Lerri, assigned to Oakland; deputy Daniel C. Cameron, assigned to Alvarado; deputy George C. Woodsum, assigned to Berkeley and Gustave "Gus" Koch, constable for Oakland Township. Read the July 20th, 1898 front page of the San Francisco Call here.

On the evening of July 20th 1898 and the following morning, a Coroner's inquest was conducted. After hearing testimony from twelve witnesses, the eight members of the Coroner's jury returned the following verdict for each victim: "We, the jury, do find that (the deceased) came to his death at the Western Fuse Company's works, Melrose, Alameda county at about 5:20 o'clock A. M., July 19th, 1898 and that death was caused by injuries due to the explosion of powder in the magazine of said works, with murderous intent by one Chinese named Quong Chung, an employee of said powder company, who had free access to said powder magazine". See the Coroner report for deputy Cameron here.

Research by ACHGP member Jim Knudsen revealed that the final resting places of two of the victims, deputy sheriff Daniel Carlyle Cameron and Oakland Township constable Gustave "Gus" Koch, are unmarked (photos below). Read Knudsen's account of their lives here. 

In addition to grave markers for our heroes who lack one, we are planning to create a public civic monument/memorial for the five peace officers killed in the 1898 Melrose Incident. 

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Unmarked gravesite of Gustave Koch (in front of ACHGP member Michael Wozniak - CLICK for full image). George Woodsum's gravesite is to the left

Daniel Cameron's unmarked gravesite. Blue notebook is on the location

The 1898 "Melrose Incident": Forgotten tragedy. Forgotten Heroes

It happened on July 19, 1898. Five peace officers killed in an explosion. Melrose was an unincorporated part of Alameda County that included the area where High Street and HWY 880 are today (Oakland annexed this area into the City at a later date). What we will refer to going forward as the Melrose Incident, is now known to be the fifth worst single incident of the murder of Peace Officers in our nation’s history! The first is September 11, 2001 where 72 peace officers were killed. The second is the murder of nine peace officers in 1917 in a Milwaukee Police Station. The third is “The Oklahoma City Bombing” in 1995 where eight peace officers lost their lives. The fourth is 1932 when six peace officers were killed in a shootout on a farm in Missouri.

Could have Alameda County, the Sheriff’s Office, and the public just wanted to forget this horrible incident? Was it the disappearance of Melrose itself, or simply the passage of time? 

In 1972 I became a Deputy Sheriff for Alameda County, and from the beginning I was interested in the history of the department. I collected old badges, stories, and information about the officers who had come before me. In 1989, while I was a sergeant, I was on a tour of the Coroner’s Bureau with Sheriff-Coroner Charlie Plummer. The Board of Supervisors had just changed his job description by adding Coroner to his title.

During this walk through he spotted a stack of old leather bound logbooks that listed deaths, as well as inquests, that occurred in the early days of Alameda County. Sheriff Plummer picked out one of these books and brought it back to his office on 12th street in Oakland, where it sat on a bookshelf behind his desk.  I didn’t realize it at the time but placing this old Coroner’s logbook covering the years 1897 and 1898 on the bookshelf in Sheriff Plummer's office would become so important.

In 1991, I received a call from a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff. The call had been transferred to me because of my interest in departmental history. The deputy said he had a part-time side business selling old newspapers. He offered an original 1898 Oakland Tribune newspaper featuring the killing of five of our “Deputy Sheriffs” (his words) for $25.00. I responded that he had made a mistake, as we never lost five deputies in a single incident. He countered by giving me the date and said he was sure it was in Alameda County. I told him to mail it to me and I would send the $25.00. (Today that original newspaper is displayed at the Sheriff’s Office headquarters). After talking with the L.A. County Deputy, I went to the Oakland Main Library and looked up the newspaper for that date in the microfilm file. The front-page headline shocked me. When I got back to the office I asked Sheriff Plummer if he had heard of this case. He had not. While we were talking and looking at the microfilm copy of the newspaper, I gazed at the leather bound ledger on his bookshelf. I opened the big ledger and turned the pages until I came to July 19, 1898. There it was. A page for each of those heroes killed so long ago. It wasn’t five deputies as the L.A. County Deputy had said, but four deputies and one county constable. In 1898 county constables, who were sworn peace officers, were elected for each Township Justice Court. 

After re-discovering this long ago tragedy I talked with many members of the Sheriff's Office as well as retired officers. One, my uncle, Gene Davidson, had joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1941. He was in his 90’s when I talked with him. No one could recall anyone ever even mentioning the Melrose Incident. There were no plaques, no memorials, no displays in the Sheriff's Office Archive (museum) – not even a simple notification that the incident had occurred. In the weeks after this discovery the Sheriff’s Office went to work and got the names of these five heroes on the memorials in Sacramento and Washington D.C.

What’s next?

Our next post will go into the details of what happened in Melrose on that July day in 1898. We discovered two of the five heroes from this incident were in unmarked graves.

Unmarked graves: Hero #3, Deputy Constable Dennis Cronin

On May 27th, 1897 Deputy Constable Dennis Cronin of Emeryville was on his beat and conducted a security check at Soule's Saloon on Park Ave just west of Hollis (see map below). James Bryan, a 17 year old accompanied by an acquaintance, was in the bar drinking (yes, things were different back then!) and noticed Cronin. Bryan was a wanderer who had taken to frequenting Oakland Trotting Park, a racetrack in Emeryville that predates Golden Gate Fields in Albany. Bryan held a grudge against Cronin and knew he would eventually show up at Soule's while making his rounds. Cronin had previously arrested Bryan and during the confrontation, Cronin found it necessary to use his baton to effect the arrest. Bryan was overheard protesting his previous encounter with Cronin and was determined to retaliate. Bryan followed Cronin out of the saloon and confronted him, shooting him once. Bryan fled, and Cronin was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on June 4th, 1897. Bryan was captured, tried and convicted. Cronin was also the first murder in Emeryville's history. Read an 1897 Oakland Tribune account of the incident here

Location of Dennis Cronin murder in Emeryville (late 1800's map)

Earlier this year while doing research for this project at St. Mary's cemetery in Oakland, we encountered a gentleman named Alfred Janske. Janske is a historian who is researching St. Mary's history in hopes of writing a book about the cemetery and those interred there. As luck would have it, he is also fascinated with the story of Dennis Cronin. In May, 2016, a story about Janske and his efforts was published in the East Bay Times, "Fallen lawman is forgotten no more".  Please read the story here. Janske took us to Cronin's resting place in the cemetery, which was unmarked (below; the blue notebook is on the location). Thanks to donations, Cronin finally has a grave marker.

Unmarked gravesite of Dennis Cronin (the blue notebook is on the location)

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This project began with Richard B. Richardson - Hero #1

On October 23rd, 1867 Oakland Police Officer Richard B. Richardson went to the property bound by 9th St, 10th St, Brush and Castro streets to execute a warrant. John Thomas, a squatter living there as directed by the property's previous owner, had brandished a firearm at two of the current owners. The police department was then located in Oakland's first City Hall, a small building on Broadway between 3rd St & 4th St. Richardson proceeded from there to the location on horseback determined to arrest Thomas. After contacting Thomas at his residence, Thomas shot and killed officer Richardson. A retrospective published in 1890 on Richardson and further details of the incident can be viewed here. In early 2016, Jim Knudsen asked if I would assist in a presentation about the Richard Richardson case at a luncheon for the Bay Counties Peace Officers' Association. While doing research for the presentation, Knudsen discovered Richard Richardson was at Mountain View cemetery in Oakland in an unmarked grave (map pictured below). Talk began about looking to place a marker on his grave. This extended to a discussion about the possibility that other peace officers in Alameda County might be in unmarked graves. We formalized the project and went about beginning the research, which resulted in discovering ten unmarked graves. An extension of this project is to orchestrate formal visits during National Police Week to honor these earliest heroes. 

Mountain View cemetery map. Gravesite of Richard B. Richardson

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