Edward Kern (police officer)
Edward Kern (1860–1912) was a politician and police chief from Los Angeles, California. He also served in the war against Geronimo.
Early life
Kern was born on a farm in Norwalk, Iowa, in 1860. At age 19 he went to Colorado, where he was a teamster. He moved through New Mexico to Arizona, where he did railroad construction work. Later, in Prescott, Arizona, he was chief of supplies, or "forage master," under General George R. Crook in the Army's campaign against the Indian leader Geronimo. When Nelson A. Miles took over from Crook in 1886, the new commander placed Kern in charge of the commissary.[1][2][3]
Kern came to Los Angeles along with Miles the same year, and Kern was discharged there. He then became a driver for the Los Angeles Ice and Cold Storage Company, rising to the position of a superintendent. He was also a stockholder in the company.[1][2][3]
In 1906 Kern was described at age 46 as being "a great, broad-shouldered giant, with a grip like a steel vise."[4]
Municipal service
City Council
In December 1902 Kern was elected to the Los Angeles City Council to represent the 7th
Police chief
The police board unanimously reappointed him as chief on January 8, 1907.[6] In 1908 he was reappointed as a director of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and announced that Los Angeles would be the site of the group's next convention.[7]
In a lengthy statement published in the
In 1909 Kern, then retired, was a defense
Board of Public Works
In January 1909 Kern resigned as police chief and was appointed by Mayor Arthur Harper to the Board of Public Works.[11] His stint in office, however, lasted only two months because, in the wake of complaints that he was unqualified, he unexpectedly quit his new job in March.[12] His appointment had been met with such disfavor that it was one of the reasons for a successful recall petition drive that eventually led to Mayor Harper's resignation.[13]
Illness and death
In October 1911, Kern, then living in
The next year, Kern, who had been ill "for months," went to El Paso, Texas, on business, and soon his body was found by a chambermaid on April 20, 1912, in a hotel room bathtub with a bullet through the head. There was no message, but a revolver that friends had given him in Los Angeles lay beside the body.[16][17]
A funeral service was conducted on April 27, 1912, by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in their lodge at 320 South Main Street, Los Angeles. Hundreds attended, many of them weeping, and the bier was guarded by policemen and firemen. The eulogy was given by close friend Earl Rogers, "who touched upon the sweet, kindly and whole-souled character of Kern." He was survived by his wife.[1]
References
- ^ ProQuest 159760545.
- ^ ProQuest 159728560.
- ^ a b c d "ED. KERN DENIES CONNECTION WITH VICE PROTECTION — Los Angeles Herald 26 August 1909 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu.
- ^ "Kern to Be Chief by Prompt Action," Los Angeles Times, November 20, 1906
- ^ Chronological Record of Los Angeles City Officials 1850–1938, Municipal Reference Library, March 1938, reprinted 1946
- ^ "The Public Service," Los Angeles Times, January 9, 1907, page II-2
- ProQuest 167351266.
- ^ "KERN GIVES VIEWS ON FREE SPEECH FIGHT — Los Angeles Herald 18 July 1908 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu.
- ^ "NAME OF REFORMER TERRIFIES — Los Angeles Herald 28 August 1909 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu.
- ProQuest 159361517.
- ^ "KERN NAMED FOR BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS — Los Angeles Herald 6 January 1909 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu.
- ^ "KERN RESIGNS; HARPER'S CAUSE DEALT DEATH BLOW — Los Angeles Herald 10 March 1909 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu.
- ^ "STORY OF THE RECALL MOVEMENT AS TOLD BY CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS — Los Angeles Herald 27 March 1909 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu.
- ProQuest 159748797.
- ProQuest 164115402.
- ^ ""Once Prominent Man Ends Life," El Paso Herald, April 20, 1912, page 5" (PDF).
- ^ ""Masons to Bury Him," Los Angeles Times, April 26, 1912, page II-7" (PDF).
External links
Media related to Edward Kern (police officer) at Wikimedia Commons