1914, First Official Records

• The first efforts at formal recordkeeping began in 1914:

• At 8:20 p.m. on February 7, 1914, two men, C. Broggs and Tony Escorse, asked the chief for "Hoboes Lodging."  

• Later that night a residential burglary was reported, the first crime of the month.  

• Two days later, at 11:30 p.m., a suspect known only as Maloney was charged with intoxication and disturbing the peace. "Mahoney resisted to the last minute. (Officer) Everett's arm hurt in scuffle putting him in cell, was very noisy good part of the night."  

• “Some of the comments in the record book certainly reflect a different era in police work. Physical and ethnic descriptions of suspects would make any modem chief cringe.” One "disturbing the peace" suspect was described as "insane on religion we think." A La Crescenta man was arrested and fined $10 for "walking recklessly."  

• Kids riding their bikes on the sidewalk had their bikes impounded for a week.  

• Most vagrants were arrested and then "floated out of town," presumably involving transportation beyond the city limits. “Dozens made such trips during 1914.”  

• W. M. Moore, a "drug fiend in bad shape," was involuntarily committed to County Hospital, typically a two-year "cure." Gilbert Perrez, charged with a violation of Section 8 of the State Poison law, "Raising Indian Hemp commonly known as Marijuana," received a suspended $150 fine.

Meet Charles Whitney Smith of Tropico

Born in upstate New York in 1872, Smith soon headed for California. There he met Mae Gibson, who lived with her family in Riverside. They married in 1906 and resided in Riverside. In 1912, the couple purchased a house on Boynton Street in the small town of Tropico, at the southern border with Glendale. Tropico was the first stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad line north out of Los Angeles. Established in 1887 on the old Rancho Santa Eulalia, it had incorporated just the year before and had its own city hall and police and fire services.

Smith Appointed City Marshal in 1914

At first, Smith worked as a clerk for the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railway, which ran along Glendale Avenue. He joined the Tropico Voters’ Club and became known for his work ethic and tenacity. Mae Smith was a teacher, according to a Tropico city directory. In 1914, Smith was appointed city marshal, as well as the city’s building and plumbing inspector and also served as an acting board commissioner as needed. He worked out of the new Tropico City Hall, built on the southwest corner of Brand Blvd. and Tropico (later that street was renamed Los Feliz).  

Tropico residents had approved a $25,000 bond in 1912 and the building was completed in October of 1914. The first floor of the brick building held a lobby, a public library, the city clerk’s office and an engine room for the fire department. The second floor held an auditorium, the jail and justice court, plus committee rooms.

When Smith reached the Ivanhoe substation, it was about 8:15 p.m. There, he boarded a streetcar that was ready to depart and immediately noticed a man resembling Herringa seated near the front. As they headed south toward Klondike Park, the neighborhood between the Ivanhoe and Elysian Heights stops, Smith moved up and sat next to the man, engaging him in conversation in order to confirm that it was indeed Herringa.  

Witnesses later told a Los Angeles Times reporter that the marshal suddenly stood up. Seeing this, Herringa pulled out a .44 caliber revolver, firing four shots. He jumped from the moving streetcar and fled in the darkness to Klondike Park. The streetcar driver rushed Smith to the 6th Street station, four blocks east of City Receiving Hospital. When his wife heard the news, she went to the hospital by motorcar, arriving as the doctors were still attempting to save him. Although he could hardly talk, he reportedly whispered to her, “Maybe I made good tonight.”

 Manhunt

As word spread, every available man joined the hunt for Herringa. LA County Sheriff John Cline and 15 deputies set out for Klondike Park. Herald and his officers headed for the Tropico jail to ‘grill’ Zylstra, who identified Herringa as his partner and gave the location of their rooming house at 320 Crocker Street in LA.

Shortly after midnight, four LAPD police officers set out for Crocker Street. As they approached, they saw Herringa through an open window. Noticing their approach, Herringa fired his gun, nearly striking Fitzgerald, and turned off the lights. The officers called out for him to give himself up. Hearing no response, the detectives returned fire and heard him scream. They forced entry and fired again as Herringa ran towards a rear porch. He died instantly. Police determined that the two men were responsible for numerous crimes within the past four months, making off with $5,000 in cash. Haviland’s gold watch was found in Herringa’s pocket. 

Residents of Tropico and Glendale were shocked by the tragic death of the 42-year-old man who had been named marshal just 9 months before. His body was taken to Scovern, Letton and Frey Mortuary at 120 Cypress Street in Tropico. The rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church presided over funeral services and Tropico businesses closed so storeowners could attend.

 Six Tropico firemen served as pallbearers. They accompanied his casket to Forest Lawn, established in 1906, followed by hundreds of residents and friends. Mae moved in with her sister’s family in Los Angeles and remained there until her own passing at age 76. She was buried next to her husband in 1954.

Still Standing After All These Years

As Glendale’s Police Historian and Museum curator, Teal Metts wanted to learn more about Marshal Smith. On the 109th anniversary of Smith’s death, Metts embarked on a hunt for his grave in order to pay his respects. He walked the oldest section of Forest Lawn, checking the location markers, but could not find Smith’s grave. He went to the office to verify that he had the correct coordinates, Section C, Lot 80, Space 12, and searched again before realizing that his grave had no marker. 

Knowing that Smith had no children and no next-of-kin, Metts wondered if the GPD or city officials could erect a marker. Before contacting Forest Lawn to make the request, he began an intensive search for what happened the night of January 9, 1915.

He visited the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles, meeting with his friend, LA County Sheriff Museum staff member Deputy Mike Fratantoni. There he viewed a 1915 logbook: entry #56, listing the inquest date and cause of death of Herringa. Just a few pages later, entry #59, Los Angeles County Coroner Calvin Hartwell had entered Smith’s cause of death. “Gunshot wound of the lungs. Homicide.” 

Metts uncovered more details through digital searches of several sites, including multiple newspaper accounts. The January 11, 1915 LA Times showed the only known images of Smith, Herringa and Zylstra. Metts obtained Pacific Electric records to determine where the long-defunct streetcars had once stopped. He walked the “Corralitas Red Car Trail,’ remnants of the tracks which once ran along the hillside portion of the route, noting that the shooting took place near the intersection of Riverside and Fletcher drives. 

He also visited several buildings important to Tropico history and to Smith’s short tenure as marshal. When Glendale absorbed Tropico, their City Hall closed and services were merged with Glendale. However, the library, on the first floor, remained open as the Tropico Branch Library. In the mid-1940s, the old city hall building was demolished, and replaced by a library/fire station complex. The city hall’s cornerstone was displayed in front of the new library. 

Later the library portion became the headquarters of the Glendale / Crescenta Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross. The fire station was vacated in 1988 when Fire Station 22 relocated to Glendale and Palmer. Both the former fire station and the former library appear to be vacant as of this writing. According to Tropico historian, Netty Carr, the city hall cornerstone is now at Fire Station 22, just left of the flagpole at 1201 S. Glendale Avenue.

With his research complete, Metts approached Forest Lawn officials with a plan to fundraise for a grave marker. Cemetery officials delved into their own archives and determined that Mae Smith had purchased both sites after her husband’s death and that she was buried in Space 11. Cemetery officials offered to provide a marker for her and waive ‘setting’ fees for both. 

With Forest Lawn’s generous offer in hand, Metts sent out fundraising emails within police department and retiree circles. Six hours after the initial outreach, he had surpassed his goal of raising $3500. 

While designing a marker for Smith, Metts realized he didn’t know what kind of badge Smith had worn. After a visit to the archives in the Atwater Village Library (which inherited much of Tropico’s historical items), he approached GPD Police Chief Manuel Cid and suggested posthumously appointing Smith as a Glendale Police Officer. The chief quickly agreed. 

The Memorial

In May 2024, an annual memorial ceremony on the steps of GPD headquarters paid tribute to the brave officers who had sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Smith’s newly cast marker was unveiled and displayed along with the 1915 Glendale Police and L.A. County Coroner logbooks. Later that morning, Smith’s marker was taken to Forest Lawn and placed next to his wife’s marker. A reminder, according to Metts, that honoring the memory of those who have fallen in the line of duty is an ongoing commitment and with the hopes that “Marshal Smith’s story will continue to inspire and resonate with future generations.”