Detective Michael Lee Lane, 31, was killed on December 13, 1979, in Whittier, California, while working undercover at a cocktail lounge at 12808 Whittier Boulevard. He had accompanied a motorcycle-theft victim to the lounge and was seated in a pickup truck in the parking lot when two members of rival motorcycle gangs approached and opened fire. Lane was struck multiple times but returned fire, killing one assailant and wounding the other.

The wounded suspect was taken into custody by backup officers and later charged with murder. Lane had served with the Whittier Police Department for 11 years and was the second officer in the department’s history to die in the line of duty; he was survived by his wife and two daughters. The involvement of rival motorcycle gangs was a key element in the investigation.

If anyone knew Detective Lane or has information about the rival motorcycle-gang activity in Whittier around December 1979, please share what is known.