Of the ten officers who died during March, four died in vehicle-related incidents (one was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic), three were killed by gunfire, one died in an aircraft crash and two died of heart attacks. March 19 was particularly deadly with three officers dying in a single day. Also notable was that only two of these officers were under the age of 30; the average age of the fallen was older than 51.
Each of these officers had hopes and dreams and left friends and family members behind who will miss them terribly. Among the grieving are eight spouses, fifteen children and eight grandchildren. On behalf of Law Officer, I extend condolences to every coworker, family member and agency that has experienced a line-of-duty death. Here are summaries of our losses during the month of March, listed by date of occurrence:
Corporal Terry Johnson, 48, Sebastian County, Ark., Sheriff’s Department, died as a result of injuries suffered in a single vehicle crash. A citizen called in a wrecked patrol car in a ditch along Highway 96 in Lavaca, Ark., at approximately 0420. Responding rescue personnel successfully extricated Johnson from the car but he died several hours later at the hospital.
Master Trooper Junius Walker, 63, Virginia State Police, was shot and killed after stopping for what appeared to be a disabled vehicle on the side of the road in Dinwiddie County. At some point, a subject in the vehicle approached Trooper Walker while he was sitting in his patrol car and opened fire. Walker was able to return fire and call for assistance but his vehicle lunged forward and off the roadway into some brush. A responding trooper saw the suspect near the trooper’s car and engaged him in gunfire. The suspect fled into the woods. During the incident, the hot engine of the trooper’s car caught some brush on fire while Walker was still inside. Other troopers pulled him from the vehicle but he had been shot multiple times and died at the scene. The suspect was subsequently arrested by Dinwiddie County Sheriff’s deputies. Walker had served for 40 years and was scheduled to retire in one month.
Alaska State Village Public Safety Officer Thomas O. Madole, 54, was shot and killed in Manokotak, Alaska, by a subject he contacted in regard to a previous altercation. Madole had radioed Alaska State Troopers that he was going to be making the contact and about an hour later, a subject called the troopers saying there had been a shooting. The village where Madole served is extremely remote and responding troopers had to fly to the scene. They found his body outside the house where he had reported he was going. The suspect was later taken into custody by the troopers. Madole had served as a PSO for one year and seven months at the time of his death.
Police Chief Randy Boykin, 51, Enterprise, Miss., died as a result of injuries sustained when he was struck by a vehicle while directing school traffic at the town’s main intersection. The driver of the vehicle stopped to render aid but the chief died while being flown to a medical center. Chief Boykin also served as a part-time deputy sheriff for the Clarke County, Miss., Sheriff’s Office.
Executive Director Tom Clements, 58, Colorado Department of Corrections, was assassinated at his home in Monument, Colo., by a former inmate. The suspect, who had murdered a pizza delivery man two days prior and taken his uniform and pizza carrier, knocked on door of Clements’ rural home at approximately 2030. Clements was shot as he opened the door. The suspect fled to Texas where two days later a Montague County Sheriff’s deputy tried to stop him for a traffic violation. The suspect opened fire on the deputy striking him multiple times but the deputy was saved by his ballistic armor. The suspect led other officers on a high-speed chase into an adjoining county where a gun battle followed and the suspect was killed. Investigation showed that the suspect was a member of a white supremacist gang. Clements had been the executive director for Colorado corrections for two years and had previously served with the Missouri Department of Corrections for 30 years.
Sergeant Gilbert Cortez, 46, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, died as the result of a single vehicle rollover crash. Cortez and his K-9, Mattie, were part of a group of officers en route to inspect a state facility in a rural part of San Diego County. For unknown reasons his marked vehicle veered off the roadway and overturned, killing K-9 Mattie. Cortez was transported to a local fire station pending air evacuation but died before the helicopter could reach him.
Larry Johnson, 65, the director of the Fifth Judicial Drug Task Force in Arkansas, died of a heart attack after being involved in a foot pursuit with a parolee in Clarksville, Ark. Johnson had gone with other officers to the suspect’s home for a site visit. The suspect fled the house when the officers arrived. He was subsequently captured.
Illinois State Trooper James Sauter, 28, died after his marked patrol unit was struck by a semi-trailer truck. Sauter had been stopped alongside Interstate 294 near Willow Road at approximately 2300 when his vehicle was hit from behind by the truck. Both vehicles burst into flames. Sauter was pronounced dead at the scene.
Alaska State Trooper Tage Toll, 40, was killed when the helicopter in which he was a passenger crashed. He had been picked up to assist in the search for a missing snowmobiler. The subject was located after almost three hours of searching and was successfully brought aboard the aircraft. Later, contact with the aircraft was lost and a search the following morning located the wreckage. The civilian pilot and the snowmobiler also died in the crash. Toll had been a state trooper and had previously with the Kansas Highway Patrol.
Correctional Officer Brandon Kountz, 26, died of a heart attack after rushing to assist officers deal with inmates during a body alarm at FCC Beaumont, in Beaumont Texas. Officer Kountz had served with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for only 11 months. He is survived by his wife.
Every day without a line-of-duty death is a victory. Although we lost ten officers during the month of March, it’s been a much better month than February when we lost a total of 14. The total for 2013 now stands at 29. This is slightly ahead of this time last year but, to put things in perspective, 2012 was the lowest death toll we’ve seen in more than 50 years. Any loss should be viewed as unacceptable, but if we can continue making progress in addressing deaths that are absolutely preventable (safety equipment not being used or actions clearly inconsistent with basic officer safety principles), we’ll be sending a lot more officers home to their families than has been the norm for several decades.
I believe in honoring the fallen, but we must empower and educate the living to do their jobs as safely as possible. We all have a responsibility to improve officer safety, both individually and across the profession. Ten officers lost in one month is ten too many. No line-of-duty death should ever be considered as acceptable or without consequence. For those that do occur, we must learn the lessons and vow not to repeat them. Remember: Predictable is preventable. If you haven’t already, I challenge each of you to engage with Below 100, Law Officer’s initiative to reduce line-of-duty deaths to fewer than 100 per year. The time is now. We can do this. Check out www.Below100.com.
Special thanks to our great partners at ODMP.org for keeping us all up to date on our losses and honoring the fallen. We rely on ODMP to provide the information that we share with you in these monthly updates.
