Daughter of Palm Spring’s first fallen police officer speaks out

It was over 50 years ago when Gayle Eldridge lost her father during an attempted robbery. Gale Gene Eldridge was the first Palm Springs Police officer to die in the line of duty. She and her grandson Roman visited the Palm Springs Police Officer’s Association Memorial Monday which honors the sacrifice of her father and at the time was adorned with flowers and messages for Officers Jose Gil Vega and Lesley Zerebny.

They were both in town to attend their memorial of the two officers who were gunned down Saturday during a domestic disturbance call. John Felix is accused of killing the two officers along with injuring another officer.

Eldridge was emotional when she spoke about her father as she was only 13 when he passed away. She said she idolized him growing up and wishes she could have spent more time with him.

“We had fun with the years we did have with him,” Eldridge said. “It just wasn’t long enough…pretty much what I can say about it. Just wasn’t long enough.”

Gale Gene Eldridge was responding to a called of an attempted robbery in January of 1961. The patrolman pulled over a driver who had guns in his vehicle. According to the Palm Springs Police Association, it is speculated that the patrolman got into an altercation with the driver with the weapons and was shot in the stomach. The driver was shot in the head with his own gun before the patrolman succumbed to his own injuries.

Eldridge said she could relate to the pain and anguish of the families of Officers Vega and Zerebny.

“It makes me angry that people do this, because they don’t know the hurt they’re causing,” she said. “They don’t know the hurt they’re causing for years and years and years.”

Eldridge said her grandson’s middle name is Gene and is named after his great grandfather which she says he wears as a badge of honor.

“He went to school and says ‘I am now Roman Gene Leppam and I was named after a policeman’,” she said.

She hopes Roman will have some positive takeaways after visiting the memorial.

“By me bringing him here and showing him the respect these officer get and that they deserve…that he is going to be a better person for this,” she said.