Police Honor Comrade Killed on Duty in 1872

The city’s police force paid its respects Tuesday to a fallen comrade whose memory was nearly lost to time.

The lawman, Charles F. Lehman, died July 23, 1872, of wounds received in a shootout. That made him the first Anaheim law enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty. Two more officers have been killed since that time.

To mark the 124th anniversary of Lehman’s death, a ceremony with a 15-gun salute was held at Anaheim Cemetery, where a new headstone was erected bearing the image of a marshal’s badge. The original grave marker is believed to have been missing for about a century.

Police Chief Randall Gaston said the department became aware of Lehman a few years ago after being contacted by his descendants.

“That triggered our going back and researching,” which involved a study of old newspaper accounts of Lehman’s demise, Gaston said.

“Apparently there was a card game that erupted into a fight” at a local brewery, Gaston said. “He went down to settle that dispute and somehow got shot in the process.”

At the time, Gaston noted, Anaheim was still a part of Los Angeles County, since Orange County had yet to be formed.

“It was nice to see some closure,” Gaston said of the ceremony for Lehman. “Someone who could easily have been forgotten was remembered.”