Frank Pribble
“RIP my friend, great memories of you both at work and our days off. You will always be missed.”
“We always called him Big Frank. Was such a giant to me. RIP Frank”
“I remember the funeral even though I was pretty young. My dad had the privilege of being partners with you.”
Deputies from the Fontana Sheriff's Station stand with Faye Pribble, wife of the late Deputy Frank Pribble, and son, Matt Pribble on Aug. 28 at the dedication of a portion of the Interstate 10 Freeway to honor Deputy Pribble. SOURCE: Fontana Herald News
“It’s amazing for my father being gone so long to be remembered by so many people”
Frank Pribble Memorial (Excerpt from 2009 Sheriff’s Department Annual Report)
On August 28, 2009, a large crowd of deputies, friends and family gathered in the rotunda of the San Bernardino County Government Center to remember the legend that is Frank Marion Pribble. The official purpose for the gathering was the dedication of a portion of the Interstate 10 freeway to Frank’s memory. To that end, San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops emceed the event and Undersheriff Rich Beemer told the story of Frank and his untimely death.
Assemblymember Wilmer Amina Carter and Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod spoke briefly, having co-authored the resolution which designated the three-mile segment of Route 10 in his honor. Frank’s death has never been forgotten by his many friends and partners. On Sunday evening, July 6, 1975, Deputy Frank Pribble was assigned a cover shift in the unincorporated area of Fontana. In those days Fontana was a rough and tumble, blue-collar, steel worker town.
There were Hells Angels and other bikers and it was well known as the toughest beat in the Sheriff’s Department. None of this troubled Frank Pribble; a large man of 6’5 and well over 300 lbs. He was known for his sense of humor and superhuman strength. Legend was, Frank could lift a patrol car off the ground with one hand and bend the steering wheel of his unit into the shape of a “U” so no one else would drive it. He was looked up to throughout the department as an icon and many credited him as the inspiration for the department’s unofficial motto, “one riot, one deputy.”
The brakes failed on Deputy Bill Brown’s patrol car that night and Frank returned to the station to “double up” with Bill. Watch commander John Futscher asked the two deputies to check the rest area on I-10 for a suspect wanted in an earlier drive-by shooting. The suspect, Virgil Scott, was driving a yellow 1965 Ford 1½ ton flat bed truck with a chassis-mounted camper. Scott had returned from a weekend at the Colorado River and confronted his estranged wife, Diane.
Virgil took several guns from the house, broke out some windows, and fired several shots into a neighboring residence as he drove off. When Frank and Bill arrived at the rest area, they drove through the area reserved for trucks and spotted the suspects vehicle parked near several motor homes. Bill notified dispatch and requested backup and the helicopter. Frank parked at an angle behind the truck on the right side and both officers began walking to the truck. Bill went to the rear of the camper and attempted to look inside while Frank walked toward the door of the camper.
As Bill looked around the back of the truck, he saw the barrel of a rifle come out the camper’s window a few feet behind Frank. Bill shouted at Frank who had his back turned. When Frank turned his head toward Bill, a shot rang out and Frank fell onto the hood of the truck before falling to his knees. It was 8:21 p.m. when Bill broadcast the 999, officer down. Edith Cain heard the shots from inside her motor home and stepped outside and saw Frank lying on the asphalt parking lot. Frank looked up at her and told her “Get out of the way. I don’t want you people to get hurt.” His side arm was still in his holster. Sheriff’s deputies, California Highway Patrol officers and regional agencies began to converge on the scene.
With the assistance of a CHP officer, Bill forced entry into the camper and found Scott lying in a bunk. His single shot had found the mark and struck Scott on the left side of his body penetrating his liver, aorta and left kidney. The Sheriff’s helicopter with pilot Don Belter at the controls and observer Jim Benson landed at the rest area within minutes. Seeing the gravity of Frank’s wounds, they decided to transport him to the nearest hospital without waiting for the ambulance.
A number of officers quickly carried Frank to the waiting helicopter and managed to lay him across the rear floorboard. Frank was so large however, that they were unable to close the door since Frank’s legs dangled outside the cockpit. Because they didn’t want the door to slam on Frank’s legs throughout the flight, Jim Benson decided to stand outside the ship on the skids and hold the door open while they flew to Kaiser Hospital in Fontana.
With that, the helicopter at full throttle, managed to lift off from the rest area with Jim Benson standing outside the cockpit against the buffeting windblast and cradling Frank’s legs between his. In 1975, Kaiser Hospital did not have a helipad on site. Don Belter radioed ahead and told them he would be landing in the ambulance entrance and to clear the area. Within a few minutes, Belter skillfully landed the helicopter between the trees and within a few feet of the emergency room. Doctors and nurses were waiting and rushed Frank into surgery. Deputy Sheriff Frank Pribble died in surgery at 9:09 p.m.
He was 37 years old. Frank’s death had a profound effect on many in the department. He was seen as invincible and his dying caused his co-workers to ponder their own mortality. After the ceremony, many of Fran’s former coworkers signed the back of the freeway dedication sign which Caltrans had set up in the rotunda. Frank’s widow Faye and son Matt greeted many old friends and were surprised by one visitor, Virgil Scott’s widow Diane. Faye greeted Diane with dignity and grace which would have, no doubt, made Frank as proud as all of us.
Shortly after the countywide peace officer memorial in May 2023, SEBA joined members of the Sheriff's Honor Guard as they embarked on a mission across the county. Their goal? To draw attention to specific monuments dedicated to their fallen brothers.