Alfred Ackle

(Sheriff, Valley of the Heart’s Delight) - Tom Bower

Alfred Ackle became a San Jose Police officer when the department was both small and politically marginal, as the real police work was handled by the Valley of the Heart’s Delight sheriff’s department.  Ackle married his high school sweetheart who was one of three daughters of the owner of the county’s only ambulance company which also served as the county coroner.  The owner got his son-in-law a job as a sheriff’s deputy.  Ackle’s father was the courthouse janitor who was very proud of being on a first-name-basis with the most powerful men in the county.  Alfred grew up at the center of the Valley of the Heart’s Delight criminal justice system, and never saw a reason to live any other way.

Because he happened to be at the ambulance company when the call came for the coroner’s wagon, then Deputy Ackle was surprised to learn that it was Valley Standard publisher Albion Munson’s car which had a run-in with some Mexican’s donkey cart.

When Ackle arrived, Albion Munson remained against the side of his car smoking a cigar, apparently mesmerized by the beauty of Loma Prieta Mountain towering above the accident site. Ackle interviewed the beautiful young Mexican girl on the ground next to her dead cousin who had been crushed by the heavy wooden cart.  When another deputy shot the injured donkey, the young girl fainted.

After a drink of water, the senorita, in passable English, explained how she and her cousin pulled out of an orchard onto the road completely unaware of Albion’s car.  They heard honking and skidding on the dirt road, but were too afraid to look back or stop.  Moments later, a car raced up next to them, and then suddenly swerved toward the donkey.  The donkey spooked, caught a hoof in an irrigation ditch next to the road, and fell, flipping the cart.

The young girl was thrown free, but her cousin got his foot caught in the broken floorboard of the cart, and was crushed to death when the cart landed on him.

Later, when Ackle approached him, Albion continued to gaze languidly at the mountain.   Ackle declared: “The senorita told me what happened; you tell me what to report.”  A slight smile appeared on Albion’s face.

A few years later, after helping Albion and the cannery owners regularly chase off union organizers, Ackle parlayed his friendship with Albion Munson into political support for his election as sheriff.   Munson views Ackle as a political pawn who will always do his bidding. Ackle thinks he has an ace up his sleeve with Albion because of his knowledge of the death of the Mexican cart driver.  Unfortunately for Alfred Ackle, Albion sent the senorita back to Mexico with more dollars than her family would earn in a year, so there is no one to corroborate his story.  The fact that Ackle isn’t aware of this fact provides endless amusement Albion and his political cronies.