Honoring One Of Our Own - San Bruno Police Chief Arthur G. Meehan

Article Source: San Bruno CA Police Department

San Bruno Police Chief Arthur G. Meehan

Today (Sept 19 2017) we remember the passing of San Bruno Police Chief Arthur G. Meehan. On this date in 1923, Chief Meehan succumbed to gunshot wounds which he had received the day before after he had stopped a vehicle for evading a railroad crossing arm. The vehicle stopped in front of the San Bruno City Hall where the suspects opened fire causing the fatal wounds. The car the suspects were driving was later located in South San Francisco with several bullet holes. Two suspects were apprehended and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Chief Meehan. Both suspects escaped from San Quentin Prison in April, 1925. For the next six weeks both suspects went on a reign of terror throughout Northern California, killing a Sacramento merchant, kidnapping and robbing several people and shooting a Sacramento Police Officer. One of the murderers of Chief Meehan was apprehended ending the six week crime spree and returned to prison. He was convicted of the Sacramento merchant's murder and received another life sentence. He was paroled February 16, 1956. The other murderer returned to San Francisco where he was shot and killed when police raided an apartment looking for another wanted man.

Chief Meehan is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California. He was 30 years old. He was survived by his wife Elizabeth Marie Dondero Meehan, age 26, and a daughter Dorothy Virginia Meehan, age 8. Prior to being the San Bruno Police Chief, Meehan had been a clerk in a broker's office and an auto investigator for an underwriter. His family had lived in California, mostly in San Francisco, since approximately 1860. Many other family members are also buried at Holy Cross Cemetery.

We will always be grateful for Chief Meehan's service and sacrifice. We will never forget.

Arthur G. Meehan
Chief of Police
San Bruno Police Department
Date of Birth: September, 1892
End of Watch: September 19, 1923

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Robert Riechel

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Photo Credit: San Bruno CA Patch Archives

Source Credit: City of San Bruno CA Police Department

Web Site: https://sanbruno.ca.gov/

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