Memorial service set for fallen law enforcement officers

As Part of National Law Enforcement Week, a memorial service for fallen Southern Nevada Law Enforcement Officers will be at noon Monday at the Las Vegas City Hall, 400 E. Stewart Ave.

Officers who died in the line of duty will be remembered. The officers include:

-- Russell Peterson, March 24, 1998

Peterson joined Metro on April 17, 1990. After serving nearly six years in patrol, training and the gang unit, he transferred to search and rescue. While Peterson and a volunteer were on a training exercise at Mount Charleston, climbing a frozen waterfall, a large piece of ice broke loose killing Peterson instantly. He died one day before his 40th birthday.

-- Raul Elizondo, Jan. 30, 1995

Elizondo, a three-year Metro veteran, was on routine patrol when he spotted a man screaming in the street between Civic Center Drive and Carroll Street. A fight broke out between the two and the suspect grabbed the officer's gun, shooting and killing him. Elizondo died at UMC at 6:25 a.m. He had been named officer of the year in November 1994.

-- Donald C. Weese, Oct. 23, 1992

Weese joined Metro on Sept. 11, 1990. On the night of Oct. 23, 1992, while responding with his partner to a radio call, his car collided with another vehicle and then struck a traffic signal pole. He died at the scene. He was 25 years old.

-- John Bailey, June 25, 1990

FBI agent John Bailey, 47, was conducting a follow-up investigation at the Bank of America, 1140 East Desert Inn Road, when a robbery began. While trying to stop it, Bailey was shot to death.

-- Marc Kahre, Oct. 11, 1988

Kahre joined Metro as a cadet on Oct. 2, 1973 and became an officer in 1975. Shortly after noon on Oct. 11, Kahre, who was working as a traffic motorcycle officer, spotted the car of a suspect who had earlier fired shots through his ex-girlfriend's front door. Kahre followed the vehicle until the suspect stopped his car, jumped out and began shooting at Kahre. Kahre was hit once in the forehead and died on the street.

-- James W. Harbin, II, March 18, 1979

Corrections officer Harbin, who joined Metro on Feb. 7, 1979, was shot and killed in a convenience store robbery, just six weeks after he started. Harbin was on his way to work when he had stopped at the store.

-- Clark A. Woolridge, Aug. 12, 1979

Woolridge joined Metro in August 1978. While responding to a call about a fight and an accident, Woolridge's patrol car collided with another vehicle. The vehicle had overturned and pinned Woolridge beneath. He died at the hospital. The call that he was responding to was a false alarm.

-- Richard Rogan, Feb. 22, 1978

Rogan joined the Clark County Sherif's Office in 1970. Operating as a traffic motorcycle officer, Rogan made a routine stop on Paradise Road near Sahara Avenue. While writing a citation, the driver shot him down, stood over him and emptied an automatic handgun into him.

-- James Slagle, Nov. 30, 1973

Officer Slagle was the first North Las Vegas officer to be killed in the line of duty when his patrol car crashed during a high-speed chase on Nov. 30, 1973. He was in pursuit of three people involved in stealing $600 from the Vegas Village store.

-- Paul DeWeert, Oct. 8, 1967

Sgt. DeWeert, a 20-year police veteran, was shot by a drunken person on a North Las Vegas intersection at 8:30 p.m. DeWeert, who was off-duty and unarmed, approached the man and tried to talk to him. The man pulled a gun and shot DeWeert. DeWeert was planning to retire the following year.

-- William Fortye, Oct. 28, 1966

Fortye, who joined Metro Oct. 10, 1961, was operating as a K-9 unit when he stopped a vehicle on Highland Avenue. Ten minutes later he was found dead alongside his patrol car. In a struggle, the assailant pulled Fortye's gun from its holster and fired three times.

-- Robert McGuire, May 15, 1961

Nevada Highway Trooper McGuire was killed in a collision on May 15, 1961 during a chase of a drunken driver.

-- George Hart, Nov. 12, 1957

Clark County Deputy Sheriff Hart, who was appointed to the sheriff's department on July 5, 1956, was booking a drunk he had arrested when he was struck in the stomach. He died of complications from the injury on Nov. 12, 1957.

-- Robert E. Dula Jr., April 8, 1955

Sgt. Dula joined Metro on June 16, 1952, and was promoted to sergeant on Jan. 16, 1954. One year later he became the swing shift traffic supervisor. On April 8, 1955, as he responded on his motorcycle to a report that a citizen was lying injured on the street at Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street, Dula was struck broadside by a car. He died 1 1/2 hours later. The car driver left the scene.

-- Wilbur E. McGee, Nov. 11, 1955

McGee joined Metro on June 22, 1954. While McGee was handcuffing a suspect in a burglary, the suspect pulled a gun from his waistband and shot the officer four times.

-- Winnie A. Hansen, Dec. 26, 1950

Clark County Deputy Sheriff Hansen, along with his partner, stopped a vehicle in front of a restaurant on Boulder Highway near Charleston Boulevard on Dec. 26, 1950. During the stop, another vehicle veered into the vehicles and struck Hansen. He died at County Hospital.

-- Ernest J. May, June 8, 1933

May was the first Metro officer to die in the line of duty. May joined the department in the early 1930s. He responded to a 7:45 p.m. call reporting that a drunken man was shooting wildly at the Clark Auto Court Motel on South Fifth Street. May was shot dead by the motel proprietor as he climbed from his patrol car parked in front of the motel.

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