William Stewart Mettler

Kern County Sheriff's Office — Bakersfield, CA

Felonious

End of Watch November 6, 1873

The Vigil Panel 4 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 27

Incident

Constable William Mettler was shot and killed while attempting to serve an arrest warrant near Tehachapi. The man who killed him was a member of a gang of desperados whose leader was Tiburcio Vasquez, one of California's most notorious bandits. A member of the gang shot and killed Constable William H. Hardmount of the Monteray Constable's Office on September 2, 1854. The gang roamed Southern California, robbing and killing from 1854 until 1874 when Vasquez was captured. Vasquez, who blamed all the murders on members of his gang, was hanged in 1875.

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Permanent identifier: BO-US-CA-38D41137
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: April 2, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

153 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Constable Mettler served with the Kern County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Bakersfield community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Kern County Sheriff's Office

Location Bakersfield, CA

Platform Identity kcso.kern.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 6, 1873

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Gun; Unknown type

Offender Not available

Constable William Stewart Mettler is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In CA, 974 of 1,837 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53% of this state's fallen. That is 1.2 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.

At Kern County Sheriff's Office, 9 of 28 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 32.1% of this agency's fallen.

Kern County Sheriff's Office

of 28 officers

32.1% Felonious

CA — Statewide

974

of 1,837 officers

53% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious