Sergeant Gary W. Wolfley, 30, of the Rialto Police Department was killed on March 3, 1986, while responding to a disturbance at a Rialto gas station. He encountered two men near a pump; one, Dennis Mayfield, ran when Wolfley approached. A foot pursuit ended behind the station in a struggle during which Mayfield seized Sergeant Wolfley’s service revolver and fatally shot him. This was the Rialto Police Department’s first line-of-duty death.

After the shooting Mayfield fired at another responding officer, cracking the patrol car windshield and causing minor injuries, then entered a nearby house, took a resident hostage and shot him in the leg. The hostage escaped; Rialto, Fontana and San Bernardino law enforcement surrounded the house and, after a several-hour standoff, Mayfield surrendered. Mayfield was arrested and charged in Wolfley’s murder, convicted and sentenced to death. Howard Bell, who had been at the gas station, was later charged as an accessory. Sergeant Wolfley’s wife, Candette Wolfley, had been on a ride-along that night and later served as a Fontana Police Department officer.

Were there details from that night or anyone who knew Sergeant Wolfley and his work that could add context to what happened?