Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief Deputy Knott was killed in a flash flood while en route to serve papers in Inyokern. He had stopped briefly in Keene to advise its residents that a flash flood warning had been issued and that they should move to higher ground. While speaking with residents in a local diner a flash flood struck and wiped away part of the building. Chief Deputy Knott was able to rescue two citizens before being caught in the flood. His body was recovered the following day approximately one mile from the diner. Chief Deputy Knott had served with the agency for 10 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two sons, and two daughters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-7E840FA3- 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
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Chief Deputy Sheriff Knott gave the Kern County Sheriff's Office 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Bakersfield community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief Deputy Sheriff Knott.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief Deputy Sheriff Howard Hamilton Knott is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Kern County Sheriff's Office, 18 of 28 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 64.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Howard Hamilton Knott's cause is highlighted.
How Howard Hamilton Knott Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Howard Hamilton Knott is highlighted in Oct.
Others Who Wore This Badge
27 officers from Kern County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
