Charles C. Plummer was born in on August 17, 1930 in Fort Bragg, California.
[1][2] Plummer was hitchhiking and met a California Highway Patrol officer.
As a result, Plummer enrolled in Santa Rosa Junior College's law enforcement academy.
Plummer continued to work one or two days a week at the department's Office of Emergency Services as an unofficial "sheriff emeritus" until his death.
[2] In the immediate wake of his death, his successor, Gregory Ahern, called Plummer "one of the most dedicated and respected law enforcement leaders in our nation" and an "American hero.