Traffic Officer Clarence M. Pickett

Clarence M. Pickett

Officer Pickett was shot and killed after he stopped a suspect drunk driver on the state highway in Berenda. As Officer Pickett spoke to the driver, the passenger pulled a handgun and shot Officer Pickett twice in the chest, killing him. The suspects were a pair of criminals who had been traveling around the state committing armed robberies and thefts. They were arrested about ten hours later.

One of the suspects was sentenced to life and the second suspect was sentenced to death. He was hung at San Quentin State Prison on January 9, 1925.

Officer Pickett was survived by his wife of three weeks and his mother, brother and sister.