in memory of
Memorial WallThe members of the San Antonio Police Officers’ Association wish to express our deepest appreciation to the survivors of these dedicated and brave members of our family.
The courage of our fallen brothers and sisters has kept the San Antonio community safe. They sacrificed so others may raise their families in peace. In doing so, they left behind a legacy of service and pride.
This Memorial Wall, while a small gesture, is meant to keep their memories alive and to remind visitors to this site that the job of a San Antonio police officer is never without danger. They put on their uniforms and went to work. They answered the call. For that, we owe them a lifetime of gratitude and respect.
To the families of the fallen, we offer our love and support. We will never forget. We will honor their service by keeping these officers in our thoughts every day we put the badge on and head to work.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” -John 15:13
Miguel Moreno
Details
Officer Moreno was one of two officers shot in the 200 block of W. Evergreen St. near San Antonio College while approaching two suspects near a car that appeared to have been broken into Thursday afternoon.
Robert Deckard
Details
Officer Deckard was shot during a vehicle chase on December 8th, 2013. He died 12 days later on December 20th, 2013.
Stephanie Brown
Details
Officer Brown passed away on March 15, 2011, as a result of injuries she sustained when she was struck head on by a wrong-way suspected DWI driver. Officer Brown was 27 years old and had served over 2 years on the Department.
Robert Davis
Details
Officer Davis was clearing an accident scene when he was struck by a passing vehicle.
Valentine “Val” Lopez
Details
On 2/27/1977, while responding to a call for a man with a gun at a bar, Officer Valentine “Val” Lopez was shot twice. One bullet struck his abdomen and the other his chest. Officer Lopez died as a result of complications from the bullet wound in his abdomen.
Juan Antonio Morales
Details
Officer Morales was on his SAPD motorcycle on IH 10 W when he was side swiped by a vehicle driven by a person suspected of being under the influence of alcohol. Officer Morales was taken to the hospital where he died as a result of his injuries.
John Anthony Riojas
Details
Officer Riojas was routine patrol in a NW side apartment complex when he became involved in a foot pursuit of a suspect. A fight ensued, and during the fight the suspect gained control of Officer Riojas’s service pistol and shot the officer. Officer Riojas was taken to the hospital, where he died.
Michael C. McInnis
Details
Officer McInnis was pursuing suspects in a burglary in the NW Loop 410 area when his patrol car went out of control and crashed. Officer McInnis died from the injuries he sustained.
Rondall Sisco
Details
Officer Sisco, a Traffic Division motorcycle officer, was enroute to the Central Substation when an automobile exiting the freeway struck his motorcycle. Officer Sisco died as a result of severe head injuries.
Roger Henarie
Details
Officer Henarie was enroute to cover another officer who chasing a suspect when Henarie’s patrol car crashed in the 4600 block of Callaghan Rd. He died as a result of the injuries he received.
Patricia Calderon
Details
Patrolman Calderon was chasing a theft suspect on foot through the thick brush near Salado Creek at 2 in the morning. Because of poor visibility she fell into the creek and drowned. Officer Calderon was the first female SAPD police officer to be killed in the line of duty.
Edwyn J. Gorrell
Details
Patrolman Gorrell was shot by a suspect he was trying to arrest in the 600 block of Navarro on 22 February, 1988. Gorrell died from his injuries on 5 July, 1988 after over 4 months in a coma.
Bernabe Salazar, Jr.
Details
Patrolman Salazar was shot and killed while attempting to serve a search warrant on a suspected narcotics law violator.
George Copeland III
Details
Patrolman Copeland and Patrolman Bennett were directing traffic at the scene of an accident when they were struck from behind and killed by another vehicle.
James E. Anderson
Details
Detective Anderson was responding to a disturbance call on Pike Road when he was fired upon by someone in the house he was investigating. As he was seeking cover, a second shot hit and killed him.
Russell Spannagel
Details
Patrolman Spannagel was conducting a routine follow-up investigation involving a suspect in an affray, when he was disarmed and fatally shot by a 37-year old man. Cover officers arrived at the scene to find the assailant standing over Officer Spannagel’s body, still holding the gun.
Antonio T. Canales
Details
Patrolman Canales was shot with a shotgun while attempting to apprehend two men who were suspected of the robbery of a service station on Frio City Road. Patrolman Canales, mortally wounded, shot his own weapon at the fleeing suspects, causing their automobile to swerve off the road and crash. The suspects were apprehended, but Canales died a short time later.
Richard M. Cuellar
Details
Patrolman Cuellar was returning three youths to the Juvenile Bureau when, upon his arrival at the Police Parking Lot, he met another Patrolman who had another of the juvenile burglary suspects in custody. That 14-year-old juvenile produced a .22-caliber pistol as he escaped from the patrol car and ran into Officer Cuellar, who attempted to block his escape. The assailant pulled the trigger five times, with four successive misfires before a bullet entered Cuellar’s heart. Both officers then fired on the assailant, who was fatally wounded. Officer Cuellar died less than an hour later.
Otto Hillock
Details
Investigator Hillock, patrolling on a motorcycle, was involved in a collision with a bicyclist in the 2100 block of South Presa. In an effort to avoid the bicyclist, Hillock lost control of his motorcycle and was killed as a result of severe head injuries.
Frederick Coblentz
Details
Coblentz, a Probationary Patrolman at the time of his death, was escorting an ambulance in his patrol car when he was involved in a collision with another vehicle at the intersection of Goliad and Water Streets (where Hemisfair Park is now). Before entering the Police Academy in 1942, Coblentz had served SAPD as a civilian Ambulance Driver and City Jail Fingerprint Man.
Earl Kanning
Details
Patrolman Kanning suffered severe head injuries when his police motorcycle skidded on wet pavement at South St. Mary’s and Perida on December 23, 1938. He died on Christmas Eve, 1938.
John Stowe
Details
Patrolman Stowe was in a bar in the 400 block of East Commerce, when the bartender, recognizing Stowe to be a policeman, informed him that a male patron in the bar was armed. Stowe attempted to disarm and arrest the subject, but was himself shot and killed in the process.
Peter Scrivano
Details
Patrolman Scrivano was investigating a traffic accident on Produce Row at Pecos Street, when one of the drivers involved in the collision drew a pistol and shot the policeman. Before he died, Scrivano managed to draw his service revolver and wounded his assailant, who died the next week.
Theodore Boynton
Details
Patrolman Boynton, though not on duty, was riding to town on a Culebra Ave. bus, when a bandit boarded the bus and drew a gun on the driver. Boynton scuffled with the bandit and both fell out the bus door, stunning Boynton on the head. The bandit then shot Boynton and fled. Boynton died the following Tuesday at Santa Rosa Infirmary.
Robert White
Details
Detective White was investigating a suspicious person report at East Houston and Cherry, when the subject broke and ran into a grocery store. White gave chase, was fired upon, and was killed.
Joseph Pedraza
Details
Patrolman Pedraza was investigating a disturbance on East Commerce Street when he was accidentally shot and killed by a Military Police Officer who was assisting in the investigation.
William M. Lacey
Details
Patrolman Lacey was shot and killed accidentally by the person he was assigned to protect during a labor dispute. The incident took place at the intersection of St. Mary’s and Travis.
Benjamin Marconi
Details
On November 20, 2016, Benjamin Marconi, a detective with the San Antonio Police Department, was shot to death in San Antonio, Texas. In the shooting, a motorist stopped his car, got out, and shot and wounded Marconi while the latter was sitting in his marked patrol car in front of the department’s headquarters, writing a ticket for another driver during a routine traffic stop.
Edrees Mukhtar
Details
Officer Mukhtar passed away as a result of injuries he sustained when his patrol vehicle lost control and was struck by an oncoming vehicle. Officer Mukhtar was 28 years old and had served over a year on the Department.
Sergio Antillon
Details
Officer Antillon succumbed to injuries sustained two weeks earlier when he was struck by a drunk driver. Officer Antillon was 25 years old and had served 2 months on the Department.
Mario Moreno
Details
Detective Mario Moreno was shot and killed while serving a warrant on a suspect wanted for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
John Wheeler
Details
Officer John Wheeler was killed when a drunk driver traveling at more than 90mph rear-ended his Patrol car on SW Loop 410 near Culebra Road. The impact caused the Crown Victoria Patrol Car to explode, setting both cars on fire. Both drivers died at the scene.
Hector Garza
Details
Officer Garza responded to a disturbance call on S. San Eduardo. A male who was present in the home shot Officer Garza, shot and killed a female who lived in the home, and shot and injured a male, who ran across the street to a school. School officials notified the police. Officer Garza died at the scene.
Oscar D. Perez
Details
Officer Perez was in the process of executing an arrest warrant when he was shot and killed by the suspect.
Fabian Dominguez
Details
Officer Dominguez was investigating the burglary of a residence when he was shot and killed by one of the suspects.
Douglas Goeble
Details
Officer Goeble was eating dinner at a restaurant on East Commerce when a man and woman involved in a disturbance entered the establishment. Seeing Officer Goeble, the man shot him in the head, then turned and shot the woman. Both Officer Goeble and the woman died from their wounds.
Gary Lee Williams
Details
Patrolman Williams was responding to a suspicious vehicle call at 800 NE Loop 410. Shortly afterwards he reported over the radio he had been shot. He later died from his wounds.
Antonio Garcia
Details
Patrolman Garcia was responding to an officer in trouble call when his patrol car slid into a utility pole in the 6800 block of Culebra. Officer Garcia died as a result of his injuries.
Gilbert Ramirez
Details
Patrolman Ramirez was shot and killed by a shotgun-wielding assailant in the 200 block of Tedder while answering a family disturbance call.
Eloy F. Gonzales
Details
Patrolman Gonzales was shot and killed in the early morning hours of August 15, 1977, as he stepped from his patrol car to investigate a sidewalk disturbance.
James Bennett, Jr.
Details
Patrolman Bennett was directing traffic around an accident when he and his partner, Patrolman George Copeland, were struck from behind by another vehicle.
Harry Brackman
Details
Patrolman Brackman was responding to an officer in trouble call (officer shot at) on IH 10 Access Road. Before reaching the scene, Patrolman Brackman lost control of his motorcycle and was thrown from the cycle to his death.
George Ellis Jacobs
Details
Patrolman Jacobs surprised a man who was fleeing on foot from a gas station he had just robbed of $50. The assailant fired at point-blank range, mortally wounding Patrolman Jacobs as he stepped from his patrol car. Jacobs died four days later. The robber was later captured.
Guadalupe J. Martinez
Details
Patrolman Martinez responded to a neighborhood shooting call at Santiago and Chupaderas Streets. He was shot to death by an elderly man as the officer tried to talk the man into giving up the gun. The assailant was himself shot to death in the exchange of gunfire with Patrolman Martinez and Patrolman Serbantez.
Winston A. Culpepper
Details
Patrolman Culpepper was investigating a fatal traffic accident in the 3300 block of Southwest Military Drive. As he was in the process of measuring skidmarks he was struck and killed by a passing vehicle.
Michael Ellis, Jr.
Details
Detective Ellis was responding to a disturbance call in the 100 block of Nebraska when his police car was fired upon. Ellis’ partner was wounded, and Ellis pursued the offender on foot to the 700 block of South Walnut Street, where he was shot by the fugitive. The man then turned the weapon on himself and committed suicide.
Julius Alberson
Details
Patrolman Alberson was attempting to arrest five persons charged with disturbing the peace. In the 500 block of East Commerce Street the offenders managed to disarm Alberson, shot him with his own pistol, and fled the scene. Patrolman Alberson, the first black SAPD officer to die in the line of duty, had been on the Department less than ten months, and was 29 years of age at the time of his death.
Agnal Edwards
Details
Patrolman Edwards was on his motorcycle when he spotted and pursued a vehicle wanted as having been involved in a holdup. After Edwards stopped the wanted vehicle in the 400 block of Jones Ave, one of the “hi-jacking” suspects fired from the vehicle, hitting and killing Patrolman Edwards.
Henry Perrow
Details
Detective Perrow was pursuing a member of the Dillinger Gang, and cornered the fugitive in an alley off the 400 block of East Commerce. During the gunbattle that ensued, Perrow was wounded and died.
Raleigh Taylor
Details
Patrolman Taylor was operating a police motorcycle when he was involved in a major accident sustaining injuries causing his death.
Louis Grobe
Details
Patrolman Grobe was on his motorcycle when he observed a traffic violation. He was in pursuit of the violator when at Romana Plaza and Soledad Street he collided, head-on, with an on-coming vehicle and was killed.
Sam Street
Details
Chief of Detectives Street was investigating a tip that a notorious bandit, John M. (Pete) McKenzie, alias “The Lone Eagle”, was about to stage a holdup of the Piggly Wiggly Food Store at San Pedro and West Laurel. McKenzie shot Chief Street at that location, and Street died the next day.
Frank East
Details
Patrolman Frank East was riding his motorcycle on Commerce Street, on duty, when a bicyclist pulled out in front of him, causing East to swerve and lose control of his motorcycle. East suffered fatal head injuries from the accident.
Charles D. Artzt
Details
Officer Artzt was attempting to arrest a man who had stolen a coat out of vehicle on Main Avenue. A struggle ensued and the suspect fired two shots from a pistol pointblank into Officer Artzt’s abdomen.
Van Ness Wells
Details
Patrolman Van Ness Wells , while walking back for relief from Arsenal and South Main Street, ran across a drunken man lying on the ground. While attempting to arrest the violator, Wells was stabbed. He died the following day.
Frederick Fieldstrup
Details
Officer Fieldstrup was assigned to watch a bad man named Bill Hart. When Fieldstrup approached Hart, an argument started and both men pulled their pistols and shot. Both were killed in the gun battle.