Here we have the Sanger Police department photo, 1964. Whoever had the photo wrote down everyone’s name. Thank you, unknown person! I assume (R) means retired, but it could actually mean regular, meaning the person was on the regular shift, not the volunteer shift, but that’s a complete guess. There’s a Sanger, CA, and a Sanger, TX, both localities which would have more Hispanics on the force than elsewhere in 1964. There’s a palm tree in the far background so my guess is this is California.
Back Row
Don Shepherd, Bob Galloway, Bill Arneson, Andy Padilla, “Phil”, Larry Jones, Bill Les Perance, Finis Shepherd (R), Bruce Presley (R)
Front Row
Dale Hufford, Ken Walker, Ervin Metzler, Chief Carl Armstrong, Chas McVay, Bob Bustamante, Richard Hoveiler (R), Elliott Martinez (R)
UPDATE: Thanks to our great readers, we have confirmation that this is Sanger, CA and the photo was taken at 5th Street and Academy Ave. Iggy also suggested the (R) designation means “rookie” and that sounds better than “retired” for some of these young guys. Thank you everyone!!
Who Were They? 
This is cool! I had to see if Sanger, CA had a police department history page. They do! The Chief in this pic was the second chief in the early ’50s. There is also a very similar picture to this one posted. This is a very nice photo compared to what the Sanger PD is using, newspaper clippings. The second link is the official page for the city of Sanger. As a side note the National Christmas Tree is from Sanger, CA. Merry Christmas in everyone!
http://sanger.org/spd/history.html
http://www.ci.sanger.ca.us/police.asp
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Looks like McVay and Bustamante also were Chiefs, thanks for the links!
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I have,nt seen the group together in years. I went to church with Mr Bob Bustammante at a young age. My grandma was Ida Maye Whetstone. My Dad was Robert Whetstone. I now live in Knoxville tn.. I sure miss those days in Danger CA…
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Great photo! You made me curious, so I did a little internet searching. Check out this page: http://sanger.org/spd/history.html It shows the same arm patch (shaped like a slice of pizza with a tree in it), and the names of the chiefs at the bottom (Armstrong and McVay) match those shown here. So that would make it California. :-)
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Yes, you are correct. It is Sanger California I am familiar with several of these guys. Looks like the picture was taken at 5th Street and Academy Ave. Nice!!
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I suspect the “R” denotes “rookie” in this context.
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Richard F Hoveiler (May 25, 1927 – January 10, 1998) of Sanger, Fresno County, CA would have been 37 years old at the time of this photo.
Robert L Galloway, age 79, still lives in Sanger, CA.
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Cool photo! I bet they would appreciate a copy of it for their history!:)
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I copied and saved this photo, however, it has the “Who were they” text at top. I am the current Chief of Police in Sanger, CA and want to make a reprint of this photograph and frame it for the Police Department. I would appreciate if the holder of the photo can get me a copy (digital format is fine). I will then arrange to have it enlarged and framed. Thanks,
Silver Rodriguez, Chief of Police
Sanger Police Department
1700 7th Street
Sanger, CA 93657
(559) 876-6362
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Chief, I put a disc with digital images and the original photo into the mail today!
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Hello, my dad is in this picture. Anyway of getting a disc or copy? Thanks
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My dad is Elliott Martinez, That is so neat to see such an old picture. I would like to find a copy for me and our family.
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Hi Mark – I sent the original back to Chief Rodriguez. You might try contacting him at the number above. How fun to find a picture of your dad!
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My mom texted me about it. I haven’t had a chance to ask how she found out, they have no internet. Thanks again.
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In the meantime you are welcome to save the photo from here. Good luck!
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Definitely Sanger, California. I was about 8 when this was taken, and knew most of those officers. Elliott Martinez is my dad, Bob Bustamante is my uncle.
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It’s truly a great and helpful piece of information. I’m glad that you simply shared this helpful information with us.
Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
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