A sign designating the interchange of the San Bernardino (10) and Long Beach (710) freeways in memory of slain Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Thomas H. Pohlman was unveiled Tuesday.
Sheriff Jim McDonnell, Pohlman’s widow, Jenny Liepitz, and children Bryan Pohlman and Kelly Padilla-Pohlman attended the ceremony at Biscailuz Center Training Academy in East Los Angeles, said Eric W. Rose of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs.
Pohlman, who joined the sheriff’s department in May 1973, was on patrol in East Los Angeles on April 19, 1978, when he smelled ether, used to manufacture the hallucinogenic drug PCP, coming from a nearby home.
As Pohlman and his partner approached the house, a man bolted from the home. Pohlman began a foot pursuit of the suspect, while his partner went back to the patrol car to call for assistance.
Pohlman caught the suspect off of Whiteside Avenue, and while the suspect was being handcuffed, a struggle ensued. The suspect gained control of Pohlman’s revolver and shot him between the eyes. Pohlman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Pohlman’s wife Jenny was pregnant with their daughter when he died at the age of 27.
—City News Service