57 years after a Huntington Park police officer was killed, authorities seek new leads

This week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a motion by Supervisor Janice Hahn reestablishing a reward offer of $20,000 for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Huntington Park police officer Robert Keller in 1967.

“More than five decades have passed since this murder but the pain of Officer Keller's loss has not disappeared for the Huntington Park community and his family,” said Hahn. “And those decades have also not dampened our commitment to bringing those responsible to justice. I urge anyone with any information about this murder to share what they know with our Sheriff’s detectives.”

On October 5, 1967, Officer Keller was dispatched to the Wonder Shop, a business at 6509 Pacific Blvd. in Huntington Park, to investigate a silent burglar alarm call. He confronted the armed burglary suspect inside the location. Officer Keller, who exchanged gunfire with the suspect, suffered gunshot wounds in the gun battle and succumbed to his injuries.

While Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau detectives and officers of the Huntington Park Police Department conducted a rigorous investigation at the time of the murder, the crime has remained unsolved. The case is currently being investigated by the Unsolved Unit using the latest scientific methods and technologies.

“The City of Huntington Park and our Police Department are grateful to Supervisor Hahn and the Sherriff’s Department for their continued commitment to solving the murder of Officer Keller and bringing closure to his family,” said Karina Macias, Mayor of Huntington Park.

Anyone with information is urged to call Lieutenant Joseph Purcell of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5565, or the Los Angeles Regional Crimestoppers Hotline at (800) 222-TIPS (8477).