Officer John Naccarato Jr.
(April 17, 1922 -- Dec. 5, 1947)

Shortly before dawn on the morning of Dec. 5, 1947, 25-year-old LAPD Officer John Naccarato Jr., and his partner, Officer Bob G. Sumner, 38, were cruising in their patrol car when they noticed two men moving suspiciously between two cars -- one of the cars was damaged -- parked on West 52nd Street near 11th Avenue.

Naccarato had been an LAPD officer for slightly more than one year.

Sumner stopped the patrol car near the two men, and Naccarato got out of the passenger seat, holding a flashlight and shining it on the two men. Sumner got out of the driver's seat and walked to the other side of the patrol car.

Police later determined that one of the two men had wrecked his car at that location, and the pair had stolen the other car from a nearby used car lot at 5124 S. Crenshaw Blvd. to tow the damaged car.

One of the men turned toward Naccarato with a Luger automatic pistol in his hand and shot the officer. Sumner quickly grabbed the shooter's gun hand, and fired all six shots from his service pistol into the shooter. Both Naccarato and the shooter died at the scene.

Naccarato's killer had been paroled seven months earlier from San Quentin State Prison, where he served a sentence for robbery.

As Sumner ducked behind the patrol car to reload his weapon, the second man ran off.

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John Naccarato Jr. was born April 17, 1922, in Los Angeles, the second of four children born to John Naccarato Sr. and Florence Doyle Naccarato. His parents were both born in Missouri and Naccarato Sr., the son of Italian immigrants, managed a furniture store in St. Louis.

The Naccaratos' first child, Ruth Marie, was born in St. Louis in 1914, and the family then moved to Los Angeles, where their next three children were born -- John Jr. in 1922, Paul John in 1924, and David in 1927.

By 1935, the Naccarato family was living at 2928 Van Buren Place. A few years later, John Sr. owned and operated the Mutual Furniture Company at 2411 South Vermont Ave., less than a mile from the family home, where both his wife and John Jr. worked in sales.

John Naccarato Jr. enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II, served at sea as an electrician's mate, saw action in the Pacific, and was awarded the Purple Heart.

After the war, Naccarato returned to Los Angeles, where he married Helen Sarah Naughton and joined the LAPD in October 1946. He was survived by his wife and their two sons -- John Daniel Naccarato, born Aug. 28, 1946 in Los Angeles, and Timothy Edward Naccarato, born Aug. 14, 1947, in Los Angeles.

At the time of his death, Naccarato had served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 13 months.

Officer Naccarato is buried at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles. His epitaph reads, "His Life for Safety of Others."

Officer Naccarato's memorial sign is located on the northeast corner of West 52nd Street and 11th Avenue, near Crenshaw High School.

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