Fallen police and firefighters July 16 – Aug 8 (18 Stories)

Trooper Fred Guthrie and his canine, Reed of the Missouri State Highway Patrol died in the line of duty. They are presumed drowned after being swept into flood waters in the area of Route 118 and Route 111 in HoltCounty, Missouri. Trooper Guthrie was on river flood patrol duty when another patrol unit discovered his patrol truck idling on the road at about 3:00 pm, with his patrol boat still on its trailer. Read the entire story here

Police Officer Nick Armstrong of the Rapid City Police Department was murdered in the line of duty.  Hours after the funeral of Officer J. Ryan McCandless, another fallen officer, Rapid City Police Chief Steve Allender delivered the news that a second officer had died from the same shootout. Read the entire story here

Captain Jeffrey Bowen of the Asheville Fire Department died in the line of duty.  Captain Bowen died while fighting a four-alarm fire at a medical office building.  He dedicated himself to protecting the people of Asheville, and this is a terrible tragedy for our city, for all of us in the Asheville Fire Department, and most importantly, for his wife Stacy. Read the entire story here

Hotshot Firefighter Deon Jason Classay of the Fort Apache Interagency Hotshot Crew (Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fort Apache Agency) died in the line of duty.  The Fort Apache Hotshot Crew is one of only seven all-Native American interagency hotshot crews in the country.  Read the entire story here

Deputy Sheriff Bryan Gross of the Converse County Sheriff’s Office died in the line of duty.  Deputy Gross drowned in the North Platte River while attempting to save a teenage girl who had jumped into the river after fighting with her boyfriend.  Read the entire story here

Captain King, 53, passed away from a cause still to be determined while fighting a grass and abandoned structure fire.  Weather conditions (heat) are being considered as a contributing factor in the death.   Read the entire story here

The US Fire Administration is reporting that approximately four hours after Fire Police Lieutenant Lackovic responded to a report of a motorcycle accident, Lackovic began experiencing difficulty breathing. EMS units from West End Ambulance responded to calls for assistance and, upon arrival, found Lieutenant Lackovic in cardiac arrest. Lieutenant Lackovic was transported to the Phoenixville Hospital where he passed away. Read the entire story here

Officer McCandless was shot and killed as he and two other officers questioned four suspicious subjects. After several minutes a male subject in the group pulled out a concealed handgun and opened fire, striking all three officers before being wounded by return fire. Police Officer Nick Armstrong also died from his injuries as a result of this incident.

Agent Luis Gomez-Crespo was shot and killed when he attempted to take action during a robbery while off duty. Agent Gomez-Crespo, his father, and another officer were in a restaurant while off duty when a man entered and announced a robbery. When the three identified themselves as officers the man opened fire, striking Agent Gomez-Crespo five times. His father, who also serves with the Puerto Rico Police Department, and the other off duty officer were also shot and wounded.

Lieutenant Ronald Dwane Ruprecht, 51, had 16 years on the department.  He had responded to a call, and the following morning he was found by family members having passed away during the night. Read the entire story here

Detective First Grade Fermin “Sonny” Archer of the New York City Police Department died from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident while on duty.  Detective Archer was involved in a automobile accident while on June 10, 2011. He was admitted to North Shore Hospital, where he late died from his injures.   Read the entire story here

Police Officer Russell Willingham was killed in an automobile accident while responding to backup another officer.  He was able to notify dispatch that he was pinned inside and rescue units were dispatched. Moments later he notified dispatchers that his vehicle had caught fire. When the rescue units arrived the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames.  He was pronounced dead at the scene. Read the entire story here

Firefighter Miller died of an apparent heart attack after returning home from working a structure fire at 0440 Hours this morning. Firefighter Miller is 31 years old and survived by his wife, Amy. Read the entire story here

Firefighter Gaston Gagne passed after responding to three incidents earlier that day.   He had served more than 18 years with the Baytown Fire Department, where he belonged to several groups such as serving as a member of the HAZMAT team, a member of BEAT Alley’s youth fire prevention team and most recently he joined several others in establishing a regional collapse rescue team. Read the entire story here

Deputy Daly was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop near the intersection of East Fayetteville and Walker roads. A fugitive squad in an unmarked car identified a teenage suspect wanted on armed robbery charges and called on Deputy Daly in his marked cruiser to execute the traffic stop.  As Deputy Daly approached the passenger side of the vehicle where the suspect was, the suspect exited the vehicle and fired multiple shots that struck him in locations not protected by his body armor. Read the entire story here

Police Officer Daniel Ackerman of the Buena Police Department passed away after collapsing during a SWAT training exercise. Read the entire story here

Detective Rambo was killed in an automobile accident on Route 70, in Southampton Township, New Jersey.  An oncoming vehicle crossed the center line and struck Detective Rambo’s department vehicle head-on, killing her.  Read the entire story here

Timothy Oliveri, a 25 year veteran Salisbury Fire Officer, was critically injured Friday afternoon when a jack slipped while he was repairing a vehicle behind the firehouse. Read the entire story here