Roll of Honor
James S. White
Incident
Deputy Game Warden James White was shot and killed in Castella, California, during a prohibition raid by federal and county prohibition agents.
He was unaware of the raid but was informed of a disturbance at the hotel. He entered the hotel holding his gun and encountered one of the prohibition agents who had just been in an argument with the hotel owner. Brief words were exchanged between Game Warden White and the prohibition agent who both stated they were officers. Both opened fire, possibly believing the other was lying.
Game Warden White was killed while the prohibition agent was wounded. The agent was charged with murder and fired from his job. On January 1st, 1927, the agent was acquitted and given his job back.
Game Warden White was a veteran of the Spanish-American War and had served with President Theodore Roosevelt in the Rough Riders. He had served with the California Fish and Game Commission for 16 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-E83DEB72- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Deputy Game Warden White gave the California Department of Fish and Wildlife 16 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
James S. White served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Deputy Game Warden James S. White 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 California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 8 of 17 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 47.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James S. White's cause is highlighted.
How James S. White Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James S. White is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
16 officers from California Department of Fish and Wildlife are honored on badge.nw.
