John C. Cline
John C. Cline was elected on the Republican ticket in November 1892. Upon taking
office he was given authority to increase the number of deputies to twelve.
Only 33 years old when he was elected Sheriff, Cline was considered an attractive and
ambitions man with a bright future in politics.
After serving his two-year term as Sheriff, Cline became active in national politics. U.S.
President McKinley appointed Cline to the office of Collector of Customs for the
District of Los Angeles. Cline completed 2 four-year terms.
In November 1914, John Cline was once again elected Sheriff of Los Angeles County.
During his tenure as Sheriff, Cline appointed almost nine thousand Special Deputies,
usually for political purposes. Official badges with an "S" as part of the badge number,
were issued to his honorary appointees.
The County Charter allowed such appointments, but restricted the number to five
hundred. The County Grand Jury was critical of his appointments, but the Sheriff
refused to recall the badges. The Board of Supervisors stepped into the conflict and
introduced a plan to change the design of the badge worn by deputy sheriffs, thereby
rendering the old badges useless. The old badges had an eagle mounted atop a shield
while the new design replaced the eagle with a walking bear. On the shield would be the
words: "Deputy Sheriff, Los Angeles, California".
Amidst numerous allegations of malfeasance, including, misappropriation of funds,
misuse of county equipment, and the appointing more Special Deputies than the law
allowed, the Board of Supervisors found cause for his dismissal and, in February 1921,
they voted to remove Cline from office.
For the first time in sixty-three years, the Board of Supervisors convened for the purpose
of selecting a Sheriff to fill an unexpired term.
Out of more than forty candidates who let it be known to the Board that they were
available, only one candidate was fully agreed upon by all the members. His name
was William Isham Traeger.