Officers Inducted Into Alaska Police Memorial Since Statehood December 27, 2003
Friday, the Alaska Department
of Public Safety released a list of fallen officers who have
been killed in the line of duty and inducted into the Alaska
Police Memorial since statehood. The list of fallen officers: SITKA POLICE DEPARTMENT - JULY 28, 1960 Officer Barber was shot while serving a court order for personal property to be returned. He had been with the Sitka Police Department for only 2 months.
DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME - MARCH 5, 1964 Officer Bohuslov died in an aircraft accident while performing a patrol flight outside of McGrath. He was 38 years old, and had been with Fish and Game since 1960.
DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME - MARCH 5, 1964 Officer Wohfeil was killed in the same plane crash. He was 21 years old, and had been a member of the Department of Fish and Game for over a year.
JUNEAU POLICE DEPARTMENT - OCTOBER 19, 1964 Officer Dull was shot and killed in an accidental shooting in the Juneau Police station. He was the first Juneau Police Officer killed in the line of duty. He was 28 years old.
CRAIG POLICE DEPARTMENT - JANUARY 30, 1966 Officer Nauska was shot from an ambush while helping investigate a stabbing. A lifelong Alaskan, Officer Nauska was a nine-year veteran of the Craig Police Department. He was 44 years old.
ANCHORAGE POLICE DEPARTMEN - JANUARY 4, 1968 Officer Strong had volunteered for the stakeout assignment that cost him his life. He was just 29 years old when he became the first APD officer since statehood killed in the line of duty.
BETHEL POLICE DEPARTMENT - NOVEMBER 19, 1972 Bethel Police Chief Thomas Dillion was gunned down after responding to a "shots fired" call. He was 40 years old, and died as the residents of Bethel were donating blood to help save his life.
ALASKA STATE TROOPERS - FEBRUARY 18, 1974 Trooper Cronin was shot and killed during a narcotics investigation. Trooper Cronin was the first Alaska State Trooper killed in the line of duty and was 31 years old at the time of his death.
KETCHIKAN POLICE DEPARTMENT - MARCH 30, 1974 Officer Hoggard was shot and killed as he responded to a disturbance call. He had been with the Ketchikan Police force a year before his death.
ALASKA STATE TROOPERS - DECEMBER 11, 1974 Trooper Carr died in a commercial aircraft crash just outside of Kodiak while traveling to a drowning investigation. He was just 23 years old and had been with the trooper's Kodiak Island Detachment.
ALASKA STATE TROOPERS - DECEMBER 11, 1974 Trooper Rodman died in the same airplane crash. He was 33 years old. He had served two years as a city policeman in Kodiak prior to joining the troopers.
ANCHORAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT - SEPTEMBER 8, 1975 Officer Flora was shot while responding to a burglary call. He was 33 at the time of his death. Officer Flora's widow, Brenda, helped establish the APD K-9 unit.
JUNEAU POLICE DEPARTMENT - APRIL 17, 1979 Officer Adair was ambushed while responding to a "shots fired" call. Officer Adair was a ten-year veteran of the Juneau Police Department.
JUNEAU POLICE DEPARTMENT - APRIL 17, 1979 Officer Kennedy was also killed while responding to the same "shots fired" call. He was 32 years old, and had been with the Juneau Police for almost two years.
ANCHORAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT - OCTOBER 28, 1980 Officer Kier died in a squad car crash while responding to a fire at a gas station. At the time of his death, he was 30 years old.
ALASKA STATE TROOPERS - APRIL 3, 1982 Trooper Chevalier was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance. He was 33 years old and had been with the troopers for 6 years.
FISH AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION - JANUARY 14, 1983 Officer Stimson was killed in a helicopter crash during a rescue mission. He died at the age of 41 and had served the Department of Public Safety for over 11 years.
KODIAK POLICE DEPARTMENT - JANUARY 15, 1983 Officer Bartel was shot and killed by a man he was citing for illegal camping in downtown Kodiak. Officer Bartel was only 29 years old and had been with the Kodiak Police Department for two years.
ALASKA STATE TROOPERS - MAY 19, 1984 Trooper Duncan was shot and killed during a manhunt for a serial killer near Manley Hot Springs. He was 34 years old at the time of his death and had been a trooper for almost three years.
FORT RICHARDSON MILITARY POLICE - JULY 23, 1984 Sergeant Harris died on duty at the age of 25 as a result of an automobile accident on Tudor Road in Anchorage. He served the United States Army as a Military Police Officer with the 56th M.P. Company at Fort Richardson.
ALAKANUK POLICE DEPARTMENT - MAY 10, 1985 Officer Charlie stopped to investigate an abandoned snow machine and was shot and killed. He was 20 years old at the time of his death.
ANCHORAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT - JULY 17, 1986 Officer Hanson was shot while covering gunfire for another officer during a shoot-out. He was 41 years old, and a K-9 officer who had been with the Anchorage Police Department for 8 years at the time of his death.
SOUTH NAKNEK-PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER - OCTOBER 22, 1986 Officer Zimin was ambushed while investigating a domestic assault call. He was 36 years old and the first Village Public Safety Officer killed in the line of duty.
ANCHORAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT - JUNE 6, 1989 Officer Mizelle was shot several times when he responded to a call of "shots fired". He was 35 when he died and had been with the Anchorage Police Department six years.
DILLINGHAM POLICE DEPARTMENT - FEBRUARY 12, 1992 Officer Jones was shot and killed while assisting other officers at the scene of a "shots fired" call. He had been with the Dillingham Police Department for two years.
JUNEAU POLICE DEPARTMENT - MAY 4, 1992 Officer Reishus was fatally injured as he tried to save two firefighters during a fire rescue training incident. He was 29 years old and had been with the Juneau Police Department for two years.
ALASKA STATE TROOPER - OCTOBER 11, 1994 Sergeant Bittick died in an aircraft accident north of Haines, Alaska, in the Yukon Territory. He had been with the troopers for 12 years and was 55 years old at the time of his death.
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY - OCTOBER 11, 1994 Swackhammer died in the same aircraft accident. He was appointed Deputy Commissioner in 1992 and was 51 years old at the time of his death.
ANCHORAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT - OCTOBER 26, 1996 Officer Seely was shot and killed while serving a warrant. Officer Seely was 40 years old and a ten-year veteran of the Anchorage Police Department.
ALASKA STATE TROOPER - JANUARY 10, 1997 Trooper Heck was killed while struggling with a suspect who had stolen a car. He was a 21-year police veteran of the Alaska State Troopers.
FAIRBANKS POLICE DEPARTMENT - JANUARY 1, 1998 Officer Lamm was gunned down by a suicidal subject. Officer Lamm had been with the Fairbanks Police Department for three years and was 26 years old at the time of his death.
FISH AND WILDLIFE PROTECTIONâ¤SEPTEMBER 16, 1998 Sergeant Churchill died of a heart attack while checking a hunting camp on the Alaska Peninsula. He was 51 at the time of his death and had been with the Alaska State Troopers for 12 years.
PALMER POLICE DEPARTMENT - MAY 15, 1999 Officer Rowland was fatally shot while struggling with a man in the Carr's parking lot in Palmer. Officer James Rowland was 30 years old, a three-year veteran of the Palmer Police Department and the first officer killed in the line of duty in the history of the department.
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE - CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION - JANUARY 31, 1999 Special Agent Luht died in an automobile accident while on duty in Fairbanks. Special Agent Luht had been with IRS Criminal Investigation for 26 years conducting criminal investigations relating to Internal Revenue Laws. Agent Luht was 48 years old at the time of his death.
FISH AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION - JUNE 25, 2001 Fish and Wildlife Protection Trooper Jim Moen died in a plane crash while patrolling a remote area southwest of Lake Iliamna. The 17-year veteran of the Division of Fish and Wildlife Protection was 49 years old at the time of his death.
ANCHORAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT - JULY 9, 2001 Officer Justin Wollam was helping to apprehend a suspected drunk driver when the driver crossed the highway and struck Officer Wollam's patrol car head-on. Officer Justin Wollam was 28 years old at the time of his death. He was a two-year veteran of the Anchorage Police Department.
ALASKA STATE TROOPERS - NOVEMBER 24, 2001 Trooper Hans Roelle was shot and killed while attempting to rescue two children during a domestic disturbance in Wasilla. Trooper Roelle was a 17-year veteran of the Alaska State Troopers and was only 40 years old when he was killed.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS - NOVEMBER 19, 2002 On Tuesday November 19th, 2002 Prisoner Transportation Officer James Hesterberg, and his partner Prisoner Transportation Officer Dennis Nilsen were transporting seven inmates to Spring Creek Correctional Center when a commercial transport truck struck the van they were in. Officer Hesterberg, who was driving the van, and four of the inmates died at the scene. Officer Hesterberg graduated from the Alaska Correctional Academy in 1984 and he had served as a Correctional Officer and Prisoner Transportation Officer for the past 18 years. Officer Jamie Hesterberg was 48 years old at the time of his death. Jamie is survived by his wife and three children. He is the first Correctional Officer in the history of Alaska to die in the line of duty.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - December 19, 2002 Law Enforcement Ranger Thomas O'Hara died when his plane went down on the tundra east of Upper Ugashik Lake. His passenger, Corey Adler, a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, survived the crash. Ranger O'Hara was an experienced commercial pilot with more than 11,000 hours flying time when he began working for the National Park Service in 1997. He was a lifelong resident of the King Salmon and Naknek area, a valued community member and an active family man. Ranger O'Hara was 41
December 2003:
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