[PHOTO-primary: Newhall-Memorial_2019-04 IMG_1224_zox.jpg / 1313 px x 750 px] The Newhall Incident – A 50th Anniversary Retrospect It has been referred to as the tragedy that changed law enforcement forever. During the last few minutes of April 5, 1970, four young California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers were killed by two gunmen during an enforcement stop. The tragedy sent shock waves throughout communities across the nation, and it shattered the lives of four young families. The killings prompted law enforcement agencies far and wide to reevaluate their tactics and equipment. Many important changes would come in the weeks, months, and years following this intolerable act of violence. It inspired a reawakening of law enforcement tactics and has encouraged a mindset that has become the legacy of CHP Officers Walter “Walt” C. Frago (6573), 23 years old; Roger D. Gore (6600), 23 years old; James “Skip” E. Pence, Jr. (6885), 24 years old; and George M. Alleyn (6290), 24 years old. The Incident At 11:54 p.m. on April 5, 1970, Officers Roger Gore and Walter Frago initiated a traffic stop on a suspect reported to have brandished a weapon at another motorist. The report was of a single driver, but once the officers spotted the vehicle and pulled it over, they could see it was occupied by two men. The suspect’s car exited southbound I-5 and stopped just inside the entrance to the parking lot of the Standard Oil gas station next to J’s Coffee Shop on the old Highway 99 (The Old Road) in the town of Newhall. The patrol car stopped a few yards behind. [PHOTO-inset: Newhall_1970-04_NewspaperHeadlines_zox.jpg / 450 px x 338 px] The two men did not initially comply with the officers’ orders to exit the vehicle once they stopped, but after a few moments, the driver got out. The passenger remained in the car. The driver, later identified as Bobby Davis, age 27, and passenger Jack Twining, 35, were career criminals with histories of violent felonies who had both recently been released from prison. As Officer Gore approached the driver’s side of the suspect’s vehicle, he ordered Davis to assume a body-search stance against the car while Officer Frago approached the passenger side of the vehicle. Because the passenger had ignored orders to exit the vehicle, Officer Frago, holding a shotgun in his right hand, reached for the car door handle with his left. The passenger suddenly burst out of the car and fired two shots at point blank range, killing Officer Frago instantly. Officer Gore turned and fired his revolver at Twining, giving Davis just enough time to draw a gun from his waistband and fire two close range shots at Officer Gore, instantly killing him as well. In those few seconds, Officers Gore and Frago, childhood friends and CHP Academy classmates, lay dead on either side of the perpetrators’ car. As those fatal shots were being fired, Officers Pence and Alleyn were pulling up next to the first patrol car at the entrance of the lot. Unaware that shots had already been fired, they were ambushed by the gunmen. As the officers called for additional backup, the gunmen armed themselves with fresh weapons from the backseat of their vehicle, Davis with a sawed-off shotgun, Twining with a semi-automatic pistol, and both continued their assault on Officers Pence and Alleyn. The four men exchanged gunfire over the next two minutes. Officer Alleyn shot Twining in the upper forehead with buckshot from his shotgun, but the injury was not substantial enough to stop him, and within the next few moments, Officer Alleyn was shot and severely wounded. During the gunfire, civilian Gary Kness, who was on his way to work, approached the scene in his vehicle and realized there was a shootout in progress. Kness then saw Officer Alleyn get shot and go to the ground. Kness, a former Marine, stopped his car and instinctively ran in to harm’s way to aid Officer Alleyn. While Officer Pence exchanged bullets with one or both of the gunmen, Kness took cover behind a patrol car and tried to pull Officer Alleyn out of the line of fire. As Davis approached the two, Kness picked up Officer Alleyn’s shotgun and fired at Davis on an empty chamber. He then racked the slide of the shotgun, again to an empty click. Realizing the shotgun was empty, Davis continued his advance on Kness and Alleyn, now shooting with the revolver he had taken from Officer Frago. Kness then picked up Officer Alleyn’s bloody revolver and took a shot, hitting Davis and spinning him around. As Kness attempted to fire a second shot, he once again pulled the trigger on an empty chamber. At that moment he could hear shots to his left as Twining and Officer Pence exchanged gunfire, and to his right, he could hear sirens and see the lights of approaching patrol cars. Without a loaded weapon, Kness made a break for a nearby ditch. During the gunfire, Officer Pence emptied all six rounds in his Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver and was hit with several rounds from Twining’s gun. As Officer Pence struggled to reload his weapon, Twining approached and fired another shot, killing Officer Pence. Only a minute or so behind Officers Pence and Alleyn, Officers Erwin Holmes and Richard Robinson, in patrol unit 78-16R, came to a screeching halt behind the patrol car of Officer Gore and Frago. As Officer Robinson exited the passenger side with shotgun in hand, a bullet hit the patrol car door that shielded him. Officer Holmes exited the driver’s side and took a shot at the suspects with his revolver as they jumped into their vehicle and sped off. Simultaneous to the last of the gunfire and the fleeing of the suspects, Officers Harry Ingold and Roger Palmer arrived. A sweep of the parking lots ensued, and the gravity of the previous 4 1/2 minutes began to sink in. Four young, promising CHP officers had just been viciously murdered. The killers were now on the loose, but they wouldn’t make it far. They encountered a dead-end road almost immediately after fleeing and they abandoned their car. A few hours later, Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies caught Davis in a stolen pickup camper at a roadblock a few miles from the crime scene. Armed with Officer Frago’s shotgun and the revolver he took from Officer Gore, Twining broke into a house a few miles from the scene of the shootout and took a person hostage. Two others escaped from the house and called police. Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies surrounded the house and after about nine hours, Twining released his hostage. Deputies ordered Twining to surrender, but eventually filled the house with tear gas and stormed in. Twining killed himself with Officer Frago's shotgun as deputies closed in. In November of 1970, Davis was convicted and sentenced to death for the four murders. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1973, and he killed himself in prison in 2009. The Turning Point Prior to the murders, the CHP had already established itself as a well-respected law enforcement agency—one of the few with a formal training academy, a thorough training program, and an impressive staff of instructors. Even by the 1960s, CHP cadets were receiving more, and for the most part, better firearms training than many police agencies across the country, exceeding the national law enforcement standards of the time, but the Newhall Incident brought a whole new level of scrutiny to the Department. While the CHP stressed to the public immediately following the Newhall Incident that its training was more than adequate, they were quickly and diligently developing improved training, enforcement tactics, and policies based on what they were learning. The law enforcement community worldwide took notice and quickly began reevaluating their own training programs. [PHOTO-inset: Newhall_Cadets-TactEnf_MWN4716_zox.jpg / 450 px x 450 px] During the review of the Incident, it became apparent that there was a need for enforcement training in real-world situations. Advanced felony stop or “hot-stop” procedures were developed in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies; search and handcuff procedures were improved; physical methods of arrest, or PMAs, were expanded to address a broad spectrum of scenarios; and firearms training was updated from the traditional “stationary” instruction to a more combat-practical concept to increase officer accuracy under duress. Mental preparedness and environmental awareness also became points of emphasis. Officers were now being taught to approach each situation with increased caution, and to use time to their advantage to maximize their safety. New equipment was introduced and existing equipment was improved. After the Newhall shooting, the CHP became the first major law enforcement agency to equip its officers with speed loaders (devices used to reduce the time and/or effort needed to reload a firearm). Shotgun ammunition pouches were added to the buttstocks of the weapon, giving officers additional ammunition. Patrol vehicle radios would be modified to allow car-to-dispatch monitoring in addition to existing car-to-car monitoring, and eventually, ballistic vests became standard issue. This would be the beginning of an invigorated effort to enhance officer safety and survival tactics by the CHP and law enforcement agencies throughout the world. [PHOTO-inset: Newhall Mem.Plaque_2019_04 IMG_1224_zox.jpg / 450 px x 338 px] Their Legacy To this day, the Newhall Incident remains a part of the training curriculum at the CHP Academy, as well as law enforcement courses throughout the nation. The most noted changes at the time were the improved training, policies, and equipment. The fate of these four young officers has left an indelible mark on law enforcement practices, and without a doubt, those changes have saved lives. But the legacy of these four officers encompasses more than just tangible improvements. They have provided timeless lessons not defined by an era, lessons that can give any officer an edge in the face of danger. Their sacrifice has highlighted the need for an elevated sense of situational awareness, perspective, judgement, and maybe even a heightened sense of mortality. The evil that brought tragedy upon Officers Frago, Gore, Pence, and Alleyn still exists today in one form or another and must be addressed with every tool available, including a vigilant mindset. Winston Churchill wrote long ago, “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” This observation has particular significance as we mark the passing of the 50th anniversary of the Newhall Incident. The sacrifices that these four young officers made in a bygone era has as much relevance now as it did in 1970. The legacies of Officers Walter Frago, Roger Gore, James Pence, and George Alleyn are enriched with each cadet who passes through the CHP Academy and understands the significance of the Newhall Incident, and every officer in the field who takes a moment to reflect on it. If you haven’t done so recently, now would be a great time to take a moment. Special thanks to Mike Wood, author of Newhall Shooting, A Tactical Analysis, for his extensive research and insight on this tragic, yet crucial turning point in the history of the CHP.