Dirk Alan Leonardson was 24 and a deputy with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department when he was killed on October 4, 1980, in Riverside, California. He was off-duty at home and went outside after hearing a disturbance in the apartment parking lot, which had been experiencing vandalism. Carrying his firearm, he was mistaken for the vandal in a poorly lit area and was shot and killed by a Blythe police officer who perceived him as a threat.

The shooting was ruled accidental; no arrests were made and the Blythe officer was not charged because investigators concluded the officer believed Leonardson was an armed criminal. Leonardson’s colleagues and department remembered his service after his death. Is there anyone who knew Deputy Leonardson or who has information about that night?