Officer Finally in Rightful Place

In the shadow of the Orange County Courthouse, a granite-tile and concrete memorial displays the names of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in Orange County.

Since its 1986 dedication, scores of police officers and sheriff’s deputies have stood before it, solemnly reading the names of fellow officers remembered for making the supreme sacrifice on the job.

But a Santa Ana police officer had been forgotten--almost. In a midday ceremony Thursday, hundreds of officers paid tribute to him.

Because of lost or incomplete records at City Hall and the Police Department, a plaque was never created for Edwin R. Jensen, who died 61 years ago after hitting a speed bump and falling from his motorcycle while pursuing a speeding car.

But a black-and-white photo triggered a police sergeant’s memory, leading to a search through history via old newspaper clippings and family documents.

In January, the Police Department said it was able to verify that a helmetless Jensen died of head injuries three days after his Feb. 28, 1931, accident near the railroad tracks along East 1st Street.

Dozens of officers clad in crisp dress uniforms stood at attention as Santa Ana motorcycle Officer Richard Bouchard placed a bouquet of orchids and irises near Jensen’s new foot-square plaque.

Seated just a few feet away were Jensen’s brother, Leo H. Andreasen, 77, and sister, Paulette Pugh, 84.

Jensen, born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1896, became one of thousands to pass through Ellis Island when he and his mother immigrated to the United States shortly after his birth, Andreasen said.

After a short stay in Colorado, Jensen and his mother moved to Nebraska when he was a teen-ager. He studied auto mechanics and was a police officer in tiny St. Edward.

When Jensen was 21, America was swept into World War I and Jensen enlisted, his brother said. Jensen served in France until the end of the war, servicing the famed Sopwith Camel biplane.

After the war, Jensen settled down in Santa Ana on South Flower Street and opened an auto mechanic shop. He also drove race cars at the Legion Ascot racetrack in Alhambra, Andreasen said.

Finally, at age 33, he joined the Santa Ana Police Department in January, 1930, said Santa Ana Police Lt. Bob Helton. He served 13 months until his death.

In the years following Jensen’s death, the Police Department changed locations and some department and city records had disappeared. “It just fell through the cracks,” said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Richard J. Olson.

“I remember as a young officer (in 1970) that older officers recalled hearing about a motorcycle officer in the ‘20s or ‘30s who died of injuries sustained while in the line of duty,” Helton said.

Other officers remembered an old photo of Jensen in police headquarters.

Santa Ana Police Sgt. J.E. Smith, now retired, said he began researching Jensen’s death in the late 1970s as part of a plan to erect a memorial for slain Santa Ana Police Officer Daniel A. Hale. But the Hale memorial “fell through, and I kind of forgot about it--like everyone else,” Smith said.

Then, in 1986, when the current memorial was dedicated, Smith began searching again for records about Jensen.

Late last year, Smith said, he was able to pull together enough information to piece together what happened to Jensen.

Jensen’s brass plaque, Andreasen said, represents well-deserved recognition, even though “it was only a little while ago that he was gone and forgotten.”