David Reichling

My dad was a Army Veteran, LAPD officer and Lieutenant for 30 years.

I remember LAPD officer David Kubly was killed in the line of duty. My dad was the Watch Commander when Kubly was killed. I recall the devastating impact. David was survived by his wife and family.

“Officer Kubly was shot and killed by a robbery suspect following a short vehicle pursuit. The suspect led Officer Kubly on a pursuit which ended when the vehicle crashed into a business. When the suspect emerged from the wreck he opened fire on Officer Kubly, striking him once in the chest. Officer Kubly was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wounds a short time later. The suspect was apprehended 9 hours after the shooting. Officer Kubly had served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 18 months. He was survived by his wife, parents, and three sisters. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.”

“On the morning after David was shot, officer Ken Welty arrived at the Command Post, which had been in operation since approx. midnight. There were a lot of cops from many LAPD divisions securing the perimeter & searching the area. Although the suspect had not been captured yet, some of the "brass" from other divisions wanted to break down the CP to get their officers back to their regular duties, and to send the officers that were on OT status, home. A strong willed Wilshire Lieutenant, Watch Commander Gary Reichling told those that wanted to close down, that we were not closing down, and that a second search of the area would be conducted at daybreak. The second search was conducted and the suspect was captured in a rear yard approx. 100 yards from the CP; in a yard that had been searched earlier in the night. To this day, Ken knows that had it not been for Lt. Reichling’s insistance on keeping the CP going, the suspect might never have been caught.”