MPD’s Officer Pyburn commemorated on New Year’s Day each year

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Monterey Police (MPD) announced New Year's Day that in November 2024, a retired police officer, Adam Costa, submitted a letter to the MPD regarding his research into the death of one of their officers while on duty.

According to police, the officer's name was Honore Edwin (H.E.) Pyburn and, according to newspaper articles from January 1, 1925, Officer Pyburn was responding to a disturbance at about 1 a.m. when he jumped onto the running board of a patrol vehicle while it was being driven.

Police say that the driver, Officer Harry Elasho, rounded the corner at Alvarado and Franklin streets and Officer Pyburn slipped off the running board and fell, hitting his head. They said he was transported to the hospital, but ended up dying of his injuries.

"The cause of his death was ruled as a basal fracture to the skull," wrote Monterey police in a statement of Facebook. "Officer Pyburn was 44 years-old when he died and was survived by William Pyburn (father), Julia Escolle (mother), Anna Pyburn (wife), William Pyburn (son), W.H Pyburn Jr. (brother), Jesse Iverson (sister), and Lulu Pyburn (sister) [and] was buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, California."

Police say that Officer Pyburn was an Army veteran who had worked as an MPD officer for a little over a year and was a candidate for desk sergeant as well as briefly the interim police chief.

In December 2024, the MPD submitted a request to the Officer Down Memorial Page (odmp.org) and requested Officer Pyburn be added to their website, according to police. Additionally, the MPD submitted a request to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund to have Officer Pyburn’s name enshrined on the police officer memorial wall in Washington D.C.

The MPD also said that they will purchase a plaque and honor Officer Pyburn in the front lobby.

MPD also says that they will honor Officer Pyburn on the anniversary of his death (January 1) each year going forward.