Deputy Daniel Lee Archuleta #920 of the Kern County Sheriff’s Department died responding to back-up a fellow Deputy. On the afternoon of September 12, one of Deputy Archuleta’s brother Deputies had responded to a call in the West Kern County Town of Tupman, and due to the nature of the call, he requested immediate assistance. Archuleta was answering the call when his patrol car left the roadway and overturned, minutes away from the scene of the call for backup. Another Deputy, also responding, found Archuleta’s badly damaged Sheriff’s vehicle, with Archuleta’s lifeless body lying nearby. At a news conference following Archuleta’s death, Kern County Sheriff Mack Wimbish described Dan as “A shooting star just getting started in his career.” South Sub-station Commander Alberta Dougherty praised Archuleta as “A stellar young man, professional, ethical, and prone to hustle on the job.” “He was the kind of man you’d like to clone professionally and ethically,” she added. One Deputy expressed the feelings of many, describing Dan Archuleta as “an all-American guy, in love with his family and job. Upon meeting him for the first time, you couldn’t help but like him”.
Dan was eulogized warmly and affectionately by his widow, Laura. Sheriff Wimbish again paid his Deputy highest praise, “If God has a police force, I’m certain Dan is doing his duty in Heaven as he did on earth.”
The interchange of Route 99 and Route 119 (~ KER 17.548) is named the “Deputy Daniel Lee Archuleta Memorial Interchange“. Named in memory of Daniel Lee Archuleta, who was born in Huntington Beach, California. Daniel Lee Archuleta attended Golden West College, where he received an Associate of Arts degree on October 20, 1996, and subsequently attended California State University at Long Beach, where he received a bachelor’s degree on May 28, 1999. Daniel Lee Archuleta attended and graduated from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department academy at East Los Angeles College on February 20, 2001, and began employment with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in February of 2001. Archuleta was hired by the Kern County Sheriff’s Department on October 5, 2002, and was assigned to the Support Services Bureau, the Training Division, and the Resource Pool. and also worked temporarily in the Court Services Division. Daniel Lee Archuleta transferred to the Law Enforcement Bureau, South Area Substation Division, Taft Court on November 2, 2002, and on May 27, 2003, he entered the Field Training Officer Program and was promoted to Deputy Sheriff II on October 4, 2003. Daniel Lee Archuleta was killed on September 12, 2004, when his patrol vehicle rolled over on Tupman Road, just north of the west Kern County town of Tupman, while he was traveling south on Tupman Road responding to an emergency call. A deputy from the Kern County Sheriff’s Department driving north on Tupman Road found the battered patrol vehicle in the southbound lane of Tupman Road, and Daniel Lee Archuleta was found dead at the scene. California Highway Patrol investigative units from Bakersfield and Fresno were called to the scene but could not ascertain the cause of the accident. Named by Senate Concurrent Resolution 50, Resolution Chapter 86, on August 24, 2012.
