Kenneth Scott Wrede was a 26-year-old West Covina police officer killed on August 31, 1983. He responded to a midday disturbance involving a man reportedly acting bizarrely and possibly under the influence. Officer Wrede located the suspect at Francisquito Avenue and Glenview Road. A struggle followed; the suspect grabbed a shotgun from the patrol car’s mounting bracket, fired the weapon over the roof of the vehicle, and fatally wounded Officer Wrede. A K-9 officer and dog later subdued and arrested the 29-year-old suspect.

The suspect was charged with murder and initially sentenced to death; that sentence was overturned on appeal in 2000, and the suspect was retried and again sentenced to death in July 2002. As of December 2022 the suspect remained on death row. Officer Wrede had served three years with the department and was survived by his wife and parents. A stretch of Interstate 10 was dedicated as the West Covina Police Officer Kenneth Scott Wrede Memorial Highway in 2007, and a street was named Wrede Way in 1985.

Does anyone have memories of Officer Wrede or the West Covina community reaction in 1983 that could add context to the case?