Officer Donald F. Reed, a 27-year-old Garden Grove Police Department officer, was killed on June 7, 1980, while attempting to serve a felony arrest warrant at a bar at 8112 Garden Grove Boulevard. Reed and three other officers had arrested the suspect and were escorting him out the back door when the suspect broke free, produced a .22 caliber pistol from his jacket pocket and fired. Reed was fatally wounded; two other officers were injured.

The suspect, identified as John George Brown, was arrested and later convicted of first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer. Brown received death sentences in Orange County trials and remained on death row until his death in prison on July 7, 2019. Reed had served three years with Garden Grove after earlier service with the Monterey Police Department and was survived by his wife and two children.

Does anyone have memories of Officer Reed or additional details about the incident or its aftermath to share?