GARDEN GROVE : Task Force Created to Find Officer’s Killer

Garden Grove police on Monday created a task force of investigators from several agencies to continue their search for the killer of a veteran patrolman.

Headed by a Garden Grove police sergeant, the task force will sift through a backlog of leads that have been telephoned in or culled during the investigation into the shooting of Officer Howard E. Dallies Jr., 36.

On loan from several county law enforcement agencies, the investigators have expertise in fields ranging from computers to homicides, said Sgt. George Jaramillo.

Since the March 9 death of Dallies, Garden Grove police have been unable to identify a suspect in the case.

The investigators are from departments in Anaheim, Buena Park, Orange, Huntington Beach, the Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney’s office.

In conjunction with the task force, Garden Grove police established a toll-free telephone line especially for tips on the Dallies case. The number is (800) 404-4888.

The department has received calls daily with tips--about 1,000 over the past two weeks--and have about 500 leads that need to be investigated, Jaramillo said.

“If we get (to investigate) all the leads, we’ll get something,” Jaramillo said.

The task force will make sure other investigations are not neglected, he said. At earlier times in the Dallies investigation, every Garden Grove officer worked on the homicide to some degree, Jaramillo said.

Dallies, a nine-year veteran with the city force, died after a motorcyclist shot him during a nighttime traffic stop. Apparently surprised by his assailant, the officer did not remove his gun from the holster, police said.