Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Historical Notes

In the early hours of June 5, 1968, New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy addressed a crowd of his supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Senator Kennedy, a candidate for President of the United States, had just won the California Democratic Primary. Winning the California primary was critical to his quest for the Democratic Party nomination. Senator Kennedy concluded his victory speech and then stepped from the stage and proceeded to walk through a kitchen pantry area of the hotel, shaking hands with some of the people who had gathered to see him. Shots were fired and Senator Kennedy and five other people were wounded in the shooting. Senator Kennedy died the next day as a result of his wounds.

Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, a twenty-four-year old, unemployed former racetrack employee, was subdued by some of the people crowded into the pantry. They held him until officers of the Los Angeles Police Department took him into custody. Initially, he did not speak or identify himself and was identified only as "John Doe." Nine hours after the shooting, he was transferred to the custody of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. He remained in the custody of the Sheriff's Department through his trial until May 22, 1969 when he was transferred to San Quentin State Prison following his conviction in the death of Senator Kennedy. Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death as a result of his conviction. When the United States Supreme Court overturned the California death penalty law in 1972, Sirhan's sentence was automatically commuted to life imprisonment.

The Sheriff's Department records detail Sirhan Sirhan's confinement in the hours, days and months following his arrest and through the end of his trial.

For an overview of the case, researchers are encouraged to consult the Final Reports in the Los Angeles Police Department Records of the Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Investigation, a separate collection at the California State Archives.

From the guide to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Records - Sirhan Sirhan Case File, 1968-1969, (California State Archives)