Kenneth Grant Roediger was a 24-year-old California Highway Patrol officer who was killed in the line of duty on August 5, 1972, in Los Angeles. He had served with the CHP for two years. Just after 2 a.m. he and his partner, Officer Norman R. Roy, stopped a vehicle for erratic driving at 233 North Wood Avenue. The driver, a recently paroled man with a prior murder conviction, initially attempted to flee but then pulled over.

A struggle broke out during the stop. Roediger forced the suspect to the ground and began handcuffing him, but the suspect grabbed Roediger’s service weapon and fatally shot him. Officer Roy then shot and killed the suspect. Officers found a pistol in the front seat and three rifles in the trunk of the vehicle.

Roediger’s death deeply affected the CHP and his family; his father was a retired CHP officer. If anyone witnessed the traffic stop or has additional information about the events that night, please share what is known.