Arizona DPS Officers Memorial; 2102 W Encanto Blvd; Phoenix, Arizona

Twenty-seven Arizona Highway Patrol/Department of Public Safety officers gave their lives in the line of duty. These brave heroes and their families and loved ones are always in the hearts and minds of those officers and civilians who worked with them, of others who follow in their footsteps and of the public, whom they served. Of the 27 deaths, nine were the result of murder, 15 were traffic related, two died in a helicopter crash, and one killed when a train exploded.

Louis O. Cochran, 45 Residence: Yuma Badge No. 59 Died Dec. 22, 1958 Patrolman Cochran was killed while stopped along U.S. 80 at milepost 71 east of Dateland. His patrol car was struck from behind by a vehicle whose driver was under the influence, causing the patrol car to burst into flames. It was the first death in the 25-year history of the Arizona Highway Patrol.  (Top)

Alfred Moore Residence: Phoenix Agent, Department of Liquor Licenses and Control* Died Nov. 28, 1965 While working surveillance near 16th Street and Buckeye, Phoenix, Agent Moore was shot to death by Fernando Salcido Dominguez. Moore noticed Dominguez struggling with his ex-wife and intervened. Later that day, when confronted by police at a Phoenix motel, Dominguez committed suicide by shooting himself with the same .25-caliber pistol he used to kill Agent Moore. *Pursuant to legislation adopted in 1968, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) was established by executive order of the governor on July 1, 1969. The mandate consolidated the functions and responsibilities of the Arizona Highway Patrol, the Enforcement Division of the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control and the Narcotics Division of the Arizona Department of Law.  (Top)

Paul E. Marston, 31 Residence: Prescott Badge No. 138 Died June 9, 1969 Patrolman Marston was shot and killed by prison escapee Danny Lee Eckard during a gun battle on a farm in Chino Valley. Eckard, nicknamed the Desert Fox by the Arizona media for his ability to escape and survive in the desert, was then fatally shot by Patrolman Ron Mayes who was riding with Marston.  (Top)

Gilbert A. (Gib) Duthie, 39 Residence: Mesa Badge No. 143 Died Sept. 5, 1970 Officer Duthie was the first Arizona Department of Public Safety officer to lose his life in the line of duty. The preceding three deaths occurred before the formation of DPS. Officer Duthie died the evening of Sept. 5 when his patrol car was swept away by Sycamore Creek flood waters near Sunflower on State Route 87. Officer Duthie and his patrol car were found the following morning.  (Top)

James L. Keeton, 27 Residence: Navajo Badge No. 310 Died Feb. 5, 1971 Interstate 40 m.p. 347.2, eastbound

Officer Keeton was shot to death with his own weapon by Bertram Greenberg, a suspect in the rape and murder of a 13-year-old California girl. Keeton, who lost his pistol during a skirmish with Greenberg, was shot after stopping Greenberg for a traffic violation on Interstate 40, 12 miles west of the New Mexico state line.  (Top)

Don A. Beckstead, 28 Residence: Houck Badge No. 409 Died Feb. 7, 1971 Interstate 40 m.p. 354.7, eastbound

A few minutes after shooting Officer Keeton, Greenberg shot Officer Beckstead during another traffic stop. It is believed that Officer Beckstead was not aware of the shooting involving Keeton. Officer Beckstead died two days later in a Gallup, N.M., hospital. After shooting the two DPS officers, Greenberg kidnapped and killed another person during the chase before New Mexico authorities shot and killed him.  (Top)

Alan H. Hansen, 34 Residence: Kingman Badge No. 204 Died July 19, 1973 Officer Hansen was killed in Kingman when a railroad tanker loaded with butane exploded. In all, 13 people were killed and 112 were injured in the afternoon explosion.  (Top)

Gregory A. Diley, 28 Residence: Kingman Badge No. 1442 Died Dec. 2, 1977 Officer Diley, 28, was returning to Kingman following a narcotics investigation when he was killed in a one-vehicle crash west of Kingman on Interstate 40. The death of Officer Diley, who was assigned to the Criminal Investigation Bureau at DPS, was the first outside the Highway Patrol Bureau.  (Top)

Noah M. (Mack) Merrill, 33 Residence: Benson Badge No. 695 Died Dec. 11, 1978 During a traffic stop on Interstate 10, eight miles east of Benson, Officer Merrill was struck by a passing tractor-trailer.  (Top)

John C. Walker, 46 Residence: Tucson Badge No. 150 Died Nov. 30, 1979 Officer Walker was shot and killed while working an undercover cocaine case. He was sitting in his car at Tucson International Airport when he was shot. The assailant, Genaro Celaya, 28, of Ajo, was captured a short time later with Walker's flash roll in his possession. Celaya is serving a life sentence in an Arizona prison.  (Top)

William H. Murie, 31 Residence: Flagstaff Badge No. 721 Died Nov. 19, 1980 Officer Murie was en route to Phoenix from Flagstaff on Nov. 16 when he stopped just north of Phoenix on Interstate 17 to assist at a crash scene. He was struck by a passing vehicle, crushing his legs and a wrist. Complications resulting from these injuries led to his death on Nov. 19, 1980.  (Top)

Thomas McNeff, 36 Residence: Tucson Badge No. 1758 Died Oct. 2, 1983 Pilot McNeff was flying a DPS helicopter in a rainstorm when it crashed in a cotton field near Marana. The DPS aircraft was en route to Catalina to pick up a pregnant woman and fly her to a Tucson hospital.  (Top)

Richard Stratman, 27 Residence: Tucson Badge No. 1622 Died Oct. 2, 1983 Paramedic Stratman was on the same mission as Pilot McNeff in a departmental helicopter during a rainstorm when it crashed in a cotton field near Marana. The DPS aircraft was enroute to Catalina to pick up a pregnant woman and fly her to a Tucson medical facility.  (Top)

Bruce A. Petersen, 30 Residence: Taylor Badge No. 3536 Died Oct. 20, 1987 State Route 61 m.p. 357.2

Officer Petersen was in pursuit of a speeding vehicle on State Route 61 near Concho when his patrol vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree.  (Top)

Ed Rebel, 50 Residence: Tucson Badge No. 233 Died June 28, 1988 Officer Rebel, 50, was shot to death while attempting to arrest a suspect driving a stolen car near Marana on Interstate 10. Officer Rebel, despite his mortal wound, was able to fire a volley of shots, killing his assailant, Bruce Beaty, 23, of Houston. Beaty was believed to be part of a stolen car ring.  (Top)

Johnny E. Garcia, 33 Residence: Eloy Badge No. 3572 Died Oct. 14, 1989 Officer Garcia died while responding to a report of a drunken driver whose car was stuck in a right-of-way fence near the Picacho interchange on Interstate 10. While passing a car on State Route 84 near Casa Grande, Officer Garcia's patrol car struck loose gravel, rolled three times, hit a car and then a tree.  (Top)

David G. Gabrielli, 43 Residence: Tucson Badge No. 1231 Died Aug. 31, 1990 Officer Gabrielli was killed while investigating a previous fatal crash on U.S. 89, just south of Valencia Road in Tucson. Officer Gabrielli, who was standing in the median with Sgt. John M. Blaser, was struck from behind by a car driven by a drunken driver, James B. Sheets. Officer Gabrielli died at the scene.  (Top)

Sgt. John M. Blaser, 36 Residence: Tucson Badge No. 2916 Died Aug. 31, 1990 Sgt. Blaser died after being transported to a Tucson-area hospital. He was the first DPS line supervisor to die in the line of duty. The driver, James B. Sheets, was found guilty July 18, 1991, of manslaughter and reckless endangerment by a Pima County Superior Court jury. In September 1991, a judge ordered Sheets to serve 9-year sentences on each of the two manslaughter counts and three years for reckless endangerment. The sentences were to run consecutively. Sheets died May 21, 1997, at St. Mary’s Hospital of natural causes at the age of 52.  (Top)

Sgt. Manuel H. Tapia, 41 Residence: Nogales Badge No. 1409 Died Jan. 8, 1991 Sgt. Tapia was shot at about 7 p.m. Jan. 7, 1991, in Nogales by a drug suspect. He died at about 1 a.m. Jan. 8, 1991, at Tucson Medical Center. The suspect, Noel Gonzales-Bernal of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was fatally shot by a Nogales police officer. The incident occurred in Nogales, about a mile north of the border, after Tapia and the Nogales police officer stopped the suspect's Thunderbird. Upon asking the suspect to open the vehicle's trunk, the suspect fled on foot with Sgt. Tapia chasing him. The suspect then turned and shot Sgt. Tapia. The suspect was then shot. It was later learned that Sgt. Tapia was unarmed, having inadvertently left his weapon in his vehicle.  (Top)

Sgt. David J. Zesiger, 47 Residence: Lakeside Badge No. 1848 Died July 3, 1992 State Route 260 m.p. 367.3

Sgt. Zesiger was leading a family to a campsite near McNary when his fully-marked departmental Chevrolet Blazer was struck head-on by a pickup truck driven by Calvin Dayea, who was found to be driving under the influence. In April 1993, Dayea was sentenced to four years in a federal prison but was released Dec. 21, 1994. Ten days later, Dec. 31, 1994, he was arrested by a DPS officer following a short pursuit on the Navajo Reservation. Dayea was found to be in violation of his parole (drinking alcoholic beverages) and was returned to a federal prison to complete his term.  (Top)

Reserve Sgt. Mark Dryer, 35 Residence: Phoenix Badge No. 9764 Died July 3, 1993 While standing near a motorist he had stopped for speeding 20 miles south of Phoenix on Interstate 10, Sgt. Dryer was struck and killed by a passing car driven by Charles Robert Ransier, 33, of Phoenix. Sgt. Dryer was the first DPS reserve officer to be killed in the line of duty. The motorist, who was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident, was sentenced in May 1995 to 15 years in an Arizona state prison. The Department’s Reserve Officer of the Year Award is named in Sgt. Dryer’s honor.  (Top)

Sgt. Michael L. Crowe, 41 Residence: Yuma Badge No. 2729 Died July 4, 1995 Sgt. Crowe was shot to death along with Yuma Police Department Lt. Dan Elkins after they arrived at the Southwest Border Alliance headquarters building near the Yuma International Airport. The two were members of the SBA task force and had agreed to meet at the building to discuss missing items from the SBA property room. Upon entering the building, they interrupted a burglary in progress and were shot by the intruder. Yuma police arrested Jack Ray Hudson, a Yuma County Sheriff's Office deputy, as a suspect in the double murder. The deputy was a fellow member of the same narcotics task force and was later convicted of the double murder. On April 30, 1997, Hudson was sentenced to prison for life.  (Top)

Robert K. Martin, 57 Residence: Chandler Badge No. 474 Died Aug. 15, 1995 Officer Martin, a 27-year veteran with the Department, was shot to death during a traffic stop on the Beeline Highway, about seven miles north of Shea Boulevard. His assailant, Ernesto Salgado Martinez, a 19-year-old ex-convict from Globe, fled the scene and was captured two days later in California. Today, Martinez awaits sentencing after being convicted on Sept. 26, 1997, on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of theft and two counts of misconduct. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection on Aug. 18, 1998, by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Skelly.  (Top)

Douglas E. Knutson, 43 Residence: Scottsdale Badge No. 3818 Died Jan. 2, 1998 While standing and waiting for a tow truck to remove an abandoned vehicle at the gore point of Scottsdale Road and westbound Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway), Motorcycle Officer Knutson suffered multiple injuries when struck from behind by a small pickup truck driven by Brett Baxter, 22, of Tempe. He was taken to Maricopa County Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Officer Knutson was the first DPS motorcycle officer to be killed in the line of duty. Baxter was not charged.  (Top)

Juan N. Cruz, 48 Residence: Tucson Badge No. 3111 Died Dec 9, 1998 Officer Cruz, along with two other DPS officers, were blocking the high-speed (left) traffic lane of Interstate 10 in Tucson, Arizona, with their patrol vehicles, while investigating a prior collision. A westbound vehicle driven by Tucson resident Marissa A. Rodriguez, 21, struck the rear of Officer Cruz's parked vehicle. Officer Cruz, a District 8 officer based in Tucson, was inside the vehicle which exploded into flames upon impact. According to Pima County Sheriff's Office investigators Rodriguez had a BAC of .168. On April 12, 2000, Rodriguez entered a plea of guilty to manslaughter and two counts of aggravated assault and awaits sentencing which is scheduled for May 24, 2000.  (Top)

Floyd J. “Skip” Fink, 53 Residence: Chandler Badge No. 940 Died Feb 18, 2000 Officer Fink had just stopped an eastbound motorist on the Superstition Freeway (U.S. 60) near McClintock Drive, Tempe, when his patrol car was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by Robert Stavers, 22, of Mesa. Upon impact, Officer Fink’s patrol car burst into flames, trapping the 28-year DPS veteran officer. Several people tried to rescue the DPS officer, who had not yet removed his seatbelt, from the flaming wreckage, but were unable to do so until they were able to douse the flames with personal extinguishers. The Miami native was pronounced dead about an hour later at the Maricopa County Hospital Burn Unit. Stavers was charged with second-degree murder, endangerment, possession and use of dangerous drugs, possession of marijuana, and leaving the scene of a fatal crash. In December 2000, Stravers pled guilty to a charge of manslaughter. On March 30th, 2001, Stravers was sentenced to 18 years in prison, the maximum allowable under the plea deal reached with Maricopa County prosecutors. Just two weeks short of his 28-year anniversary with the Department, Officer Fink had the most years of service among DPS/AHP officers killed in the line of duty.  (Top)

Brett C. Buckmister, 27 Residence: Page Badge No. 5548 Died March 21, 2000 Officer Buckmister, the youngest DPS officer to lose his life in the line of duty, died from injuries suffered in a traffic collision within the outer city limits of Page. Officer Buckmister, a native of Mesa who had served one year, one month and one day with the Department, was southbound on U.S. 89 when his patrol car and a van collided. Three people in the van also lost their lives in the crash which occurred in rainy/snowy conditions.  (Top)