On May 26, 1934, volunteer Special Police Officer Peter Erath died as the results from injuries received while trying to quell riots at the truck drivers' strike. Peter was an unemployed laborer who volunteered for the job. He was on duty when the worst riots of the drivers' strike broke out. A group of sluggers, believed to have been communists from out of the city cornered Officer Erath in a stall and slug him mercilessly. He suffered a fractured skull and the doctors at General Hospital were unable to save him.

Peter Erath was not listed on the plaque in the Chief's office, probably because he was a Special Police Officer. He is listed on the Memorial in Washington and we thought the readers might be interested in the story.