Chief of Police Arthur G. Meehan

Arthur G. Meehan

Chief Arthur Meehan succumbed to gunshot wounds received the previous day after he stopped a vehicle for evading a railroad crossing arm.

The vehicle stopped in front of the San Bruno City Hall where the suspects opened fire on him, causing fatal wounds. He succumbed to his wounds the following day at the Mills Memorial Hospital. The car the suspects used was located in South San Francisco with several bullet holes. Two suspects were apprehended and sentenced to life for the murder of Chief Meehan.

Both suspects escaped from San Quentin Prison in April 1925. For the next six weeks, both suspects went on a reign of terror throughout Northern California, killing a Sacramento merchant, kidnapping and robbing several people, and shooting a Sacramento policeman. One of the suspects was caught at the end of their six-week crime spree and returned to prison. The other suspect returned to San Francisco where he was later shot and killed when police raided an apartment looking for another wanted man.

The other suspect was convicted of the Sacramento merchant's murder and received another life sentence. He was paroled on February 16, 1956.

Chief Meehan had served with the San Bruno Police Department for eight years. He was survived by his wife and daughter.