On June 21, 1982 Officers Paul Wolcott and Gary Moss were...engaged in a chase of two speeding motorcycles traveling east on Aviation Blvd....As Officers Wolcott and Moss approached Harper Ave, a drunk driver, out on bail for being a drug dealer made a sudden left turn in front of the officers. Traveling at approximately 60 MPH, Officers Wolcott and Moss slammed into the car. Both officers were thrown 90 feet down the street.....Officer Moss was the only Hermosa Beach Police Officer killed in the line of duty in the one hundred year history of the department. Officer Wolcott sustained multiple fractures to his back, pelvis, knees, arms and multiple compound fractures to his left hand. Officer Wolcott was hospitalized for three months. He endured multiple surgeries to repair the damage to his body. Several months of rehabilitation and physical therapy ensued. As a result of his injuries, Officer Wolcott was retired from the department on a disability pension.

Wolcott continued with his rehabilitation, surgeries and physical therapy with the intent of returning to police work. Three years after the collision, Wolcott approached then Chief of Police Frank Beeson with the proposition that he be returned to full duty.