The Officer Down Memorial Page Remembers
Corpus Christi Police Department
1892
City Marshall Elias T. Mussett
Date
of Incident: May 6, 1892
Marshal
Mussett was shot and killed by a
fellow
officer who had he verbally reprimanded for the way the other officer
had
handled a public disturbance the previous day. The officer who shot
Marshal
Mussett was convicted of his
murder.
1919
Police Officer L. B. Prater
Date
of Incident: September 14, 1919
Officer Prater was killed in the aftermath of the Hurricane of 1919
that struck
the Texas gulf coast. He drowned as he and other officers attempted to
rescue
citizens. Officer Prater was buried in a mass grave with other citizens
who
were killed in the storm. Although the total death count is not known,
it is
estimated that as many as 1,000 people were killed during the storm.
1938
Patrolman Joseph Leroy Moon
Date
of Incident: June 7, 1938
Patrolman Moon was killed in a motorcycle accident while in pursuit of
a
speeding motorist.
1953
Officer Roy Newton Smith
Date
of Incident: April 20, 1953
Officer Roy Smith was killed when his patrol car was involved in
an automobile accident.
He was on the way to a report of a fight in progress when the
accident occurred.
1971
Patrolman John William Sartian
Date
of Incident: August 20, 1971
Patrolman Sartain was shot and killed by a sniper while using an
employee
entrance at the police station during a shift change. The suspect, who
lived
in an apartment complex 200-yards
behind the police station,
was apprehended and convicted of Patrolman Sartain's murder.
1984
Sargeant Ruben Almanza
Date
of Incident: July 27, 1984
Sergeant Almanza was shot and killed while searching for a robbery
suspect. The
suspect shot Sergeant Almanza through a fence from an adjacent yard.
The
suspect was shot and killed by other responding officers.
1987
Sargeant Joseph Daniel Bock
Date
of Incident: September 9, 1987
Sergeant Bock was shot and killed after attempting to arrest a suspect
he had
just chased. The suspect was able to disarm Sergeant Bock and shot him
four
times. The man then shot at a passing truck before shooting Sergeant
Bock two
more times. The suspect fled the scene but was later apprehended and
sentenced
to death. On June 12, 2004, the suspect was found to be mentally ill
and his
sentence was commuted to life with the possibility of parole.
1993
Senior Officer Juan Rincon Prieto
Date
of Incident: February 2, 1993
Officer Prieto was killed when he was struck by a pickup truck while
directing
traffic.
2008
Officer Matthew Barret Thebeau
Date
of Incident: January 20, 2008
Officer
Thebeau was killed in an
automobile accident
on SH 286 at approximately 2:50 am while responding to an
assault-in-progress
call. Officer
Thebeau's patrol car struck
a concrete
wall and straddled the barrier for approximately 50 yards until it
impacted an
I-beam supporting a highway sign. He was ejected from the patrol car
and then
struck by another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. He was
transported to
Spohn Memorial Medical
Center where he
was pronounced dead.
2009
Lieutenant Stuart Jay Alexander
Date
of Incident: March 11, 2009
Lieutenant Alexander was intentionally struck and killed by a suspect
while
attempting to deploy stop sticks on SH 358 at 12:10 am. The suspect had
just
assaulted another officer at a disturbance call and was fleeing the
area at the
time. The suspect was shot and wounded a short time later after ramming
several
police cars. Lieutenant Alexander was transported to
Spohn
Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The suspect was
sentenced to death in connection with Lieutenant Alexander's murder.
The
information on this page was found on the
Officer
Down Memorial Page
http://www.odmp.org/agency/839-corpus-christi-police-department-texas
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