On August 22, 1986, Officer Patricia Faye Dwyer, 45,  was off duty   and riding in  back of a van traveling down the fast lane of highway 91 with her husband Mike driving. They were taking their 24 year old son Mark to the hospital from the Orange County Fairgrounds to a hospital in Riverside for treatment of injuries from a motorcycle accident. Mark had injured his neck in a speedway motorcycle race in Costa Mesa and originally he felt fine but when his legs became numb the family decided to rush to the hospital. Her husband was behind a slow moving vehicle that was weaving in front of him and he was trying to pass the vehicle. Mike Dwyer flashed his lights a few times to tell the driver in front of him he wanted to pass him. The driver in front of him made an obscene gesture. The Dwyer’s Dodge van overtook Hawks' Oldsmobile near Coal Canyon Road. Over the next 12 miles Patricia's husband, Mike Dwyer, and the other vehicle were engaging in speeds up to 85 mph. When they reached the South Main Street exit in Corona, Patricia Dwyer stood up in the back to see where the other car was from the passenger-side window. "She said `Good. He's slowing down. He's going into the slow lane, we'll be fine. Seconds later the driver of the other vehicle in front of them became angry and decided to follow the Dwyer’s van onto the street in Corona and reached behind his seat and grabbed a Mossberg 12 gauge shot gun and fired a slug at the back of the van hitting Officer Dwyer in the chest and then sped away at approximately 11:10 p.m.  The slug went through Officer Dwyer, killing her almost instantly and struck another person riding in the back of the van in the neck by the name of Wendy Varga, 21, who then committed suicide years after. The slug blew a hole an inch in diameter through the side of the van four lanes away. Witnesses gave a partial plate number and then an informant came forward with information.  Three days later an air conditoner repairman by the name of Harold Harvey Hawks, 26,  was arrested for suspicion of murder and attempted murder and held on $250,000 bail for the murder of Officer Dwyer. On Dec. 9, 1978, Officer Dwyer became the first female officer to work a shift as a sworn officer and four years later, she set another milestone for the department by becoming part of its first canine unit. The incident was considered  the first "road rage" fatality in the nation, occurring at a time when the term had not been coined -- such events were simply called "highway violence." Approximately 1,000 attended her service. She is survived by her husband Mike, her son Mark and two daughters, Michelle and Holly along with her K9 partner “Saber”. 

Corporal Brian Brown, 37, was killed by an IRA bomb along with his golden labrador, Oliver, as he and his search dog made a second search of a petrol station after a bomb warning. Both Corporal Brown and Oliver were killed instantly, and it is believed that Oliver may have nudged an oil drum containing the bomb, which was activated by a mercury tilt switch. A colleague was badly injured. He had been a dog handler for ten years. His Widow received a posthumous Queens Gallantry Medal in July 1987. He was married with 4 children and was on duty at the time of his death.

   

K-9 Officer Mardis, 35, was killed August 23, 1985 while assisting the Kentucky State Police track a double homicide suspect. After locating the suspect in a thick cornfield the suspect ran from the cornfield into an open field. Police believed the suspect was armed at the time. Police said they saw something bright and shiny but later it turned out to be a screw driver. Police believe Officer Mardis fired the first shot of about 20 fired in about five seconds. Police heard Officer Mardis yell to the suspect "get your hands where I can see them". Police then heard the suspect shout back at Officer Mardis that he didn't want to go back to prison and that he would have to kill him. Police then said they heard Officer Mardis fire about twelve more rounds. Troopers on the outer perimeter opened fire with Ruger Mini-14s.. with about  four more rounds. Haight then fled and jumped over a fence. There was then more gun fire and an officer yelled for cease fire. Haight was captured about one hundred yards from the fence. Officer Larry Downs was also using a bloodhound when he found Officer Mardis's bloodhound "Amanda" wandering around loose. He then found Officer Mardis' body in the corn field.   One .223 caliber round entered the cornfield and hit Officer Mardis between the eyes killing him instantly. Officer Mardis was well know within his field as a top K-9 officer.  Officer Mardis had been with the  Lexington-Fayette Urban County Police Dept. in Kentucky for 13 years.  He is survived by his wife Sue and five daughters.

On September 5, 1985 State Police identified the officer who shot Lexington police officer Roy Mardis as Sgt. Gary Peercy, 30, a seven-year state police veteran. A Mercer County coroner's jury ruled after deliberating only five minutes that the shooting was accidental and that the bullet had probably ricocheted of the ground or cornstalk before striking Mardis. A state police forensics expert believes the bullet ricochet because the entry wound on Officer Mardis' head was large and the entire bullet was not recovered from Officer Mardis body.

The suspect Officer Mardis was tracking, Randy Haight, 33, had escaped from Johnson County Jail on 7/22/85 with his girlfriend and another inmate while awaiting trial in three counties. Haight fired at a state trooper who tried to stop him on August 22, 1985. Haight had been charged with with the death of Patricia Vance and David Omer who were found in their car near Harrington Lake in Garrard County the day Officer Mardis was killed. He executed a young couple by shooting the man in the face, chest, shoulder, and back of head and shot the woman in the shoulder, temple, back of head, and through the eye. Haight was apprehended and sentenced to death for the double murder on 3/22/94. Haight had stole guns and several cars.

Constable Michael Buday, 27, was shot and killed on March 19, 1985 at Teslin Lake, which straddles the Yukon-British Columbia Border. The incident occurred on the shoreline in very thick woods. Constable Buday was stationary and very well covered from an approach from the lake as part of an ERT operational plan. The killer, a Michael Oros, age 33, had lived in the northern regions of Canada for several  years. He proclaimed himself a prophet and a Vietnam veteran. He was known for his violent outbreaks and was suspected in the disappearance of a trapper in 1981 who was his former friend, trapper Gunter Lischy, and was known to have raided wilderness cabins.. Oros became a burglary suspect  when a Whitehorse family had discovered their cabin broken into. The R.C.M.P. used an aircraft to fly over the remote lake area to search for Oros. When he knew they had spotted him, he shot at the aircraft but missed. The police flew back to Teslin, where more officers were recruited to confront Oros on the following day.  Constable Buday, the team's dog handler and twelve other officers dropped  into the area. Oros, an experienced woodsman was armed with two rifles, The suspect managed to circle through the thick woods and sneak up behind him unobserved, shooting him in the back. Constable Buday never saw it coming. Constable Garry Rodgers who was with Constable Buday returned fire killing the suspect.  Dennis Dennison, owner of Coyote Air Services of Teslin, piloted the command plane for the operation. He confirmed Oros' death by flying over the body after the shooting. A week later, over 700 RCMP traveled to Brooks, Alberta--the home of Michael Buday--to say good-bye to their comrade. Constable Buday's police dog “Trooper” led the funeral procession from the church to the cemetery. Buday's name joined the Honor Roll of nearly 200 RCMP who have died in the line of duty.  After the Oros shoot-out, Atlin RCMP Corporal Barry Erickson discovered the bones of Gunter Lischy while searching the area near Oros' cabin with Constable Jack Warner of Teslin. A forensic pathologist examined the bones and determined Lischy died from a bullet in the back. A coroner's jury deliberated for just over an hour before concluding that Michael Oros had killed Gunter Lischy.

Canine Officer Joseph Hepp, 39, was killed  when his car struck a bridge abutment on the Roosevelt Boulevard Extension as he drove to work. Emergency personnel were unable to remove Officer Hepp from the car untill a trainer was called to calm his  unhurt German shepherd, which had blocked officers from approaching. Officer Hepp was pronounced dead at 10:20 a.m. at the hospital. Officer Hepp was a 17-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department.

   

New York State Trooper Gary E. Kubasiak, 32, died on August 30, 1982, from gunshot wounds to his chest, abdomen and hand from a 30-30 rifle, on Route 62, Town of Dayton, Cattaraugus County, at the residence of James Swan, 33,  (former mental patient and school mate known to Kubasiak). Trooper Kubasiak went to the residence with other New York State police members. Swan opened the kitchen door for Kubasiak, let him in and shot him three times before he even had a chance to defend himself or order his dog to attack. Investigator Timothy Howard then entered the residence through a bedroom window, unaware that Kubasiak had been shot. Howard heard Swan threaten to shoot K-9 Donivan and ordered him to drop the rifle. Swan responded by pointing the weapon at Howard, at which time Howard shot Swan in the chest and left him for dead. Howard then went to Kubasiak's aid, and advised the other officers to call for an ambulance. Zone Sergeant Berger entered the residence to check on Swan's condition. Swan had crawled into a bedroom and closed the door. When Berger kicked the door open he was confronted by Swan with a shotgun pointed at him. Swan slammed the door shut, Berger then called for assistance. Later Swan opened the bedroom door and surrendered to troopers. Trooper Kubasiak was pronounced dead at Tri County Hospital in Gowanda, NY. Trooper Kubasiak had been with the New York State Police for nine years.

James Swan was convicted of murder and sentenced to a term of thirty five years to life.

James J. Swan escaped from a holding cell in the Cattaraugus County courthouse in May of 1984 when he broke away from sheriff deputies and escaped through an emergency exit door of the court house in Little Valley. Deputy sheriff's were about to lead Mr. Swan into the courtroom of County Judge J. James Crawley, who had ordered them to remove Mr. Swan's handcuffs and leg irons before bringing him in. James Swan was captured five miles away by local law enforcement at 8:21 p.m. in the community of Mansfield ending a manhunt that had covered a wide area of western New York and involved hundreds of officers.

K9 Officer Whiteman, age 35, was killed on March 26, 1982 in a helicopter accident while assisting patrol officers during a high speed car chase. Dispatchers lost contact with the helicopter during the chase. A deputy sheriff found the crash site at about 1:30 a.m. and was later discovered to have struck a tree and crashed near 66th Street and Lakewood Avenue.  Officer Kelly Smythe, who was with Officer Whiteman, was also killed in the crash. The helicopter program was only ten days old at the time of the accident.  Both Officer Whiteman and Officer Smythe served Tulsa Police Department in Oklahoma and were 5 year veterans of the department. Officer Whiteman had over 1500 hours of flight time and had flown helicopters for the Army in Vietnam and survived being shot down twice.  Officer Whiteman is survived by his wife and one son, Chance Frederick Whiteman IV.