Ranger337
08-21-2001, 14:53
August 17, 2001
Officer Richard E. Perkins
Bishop Police Department
<B>This is the story as reported by the Associated Press.</b>
A Bishop police officer was killed late Wednesday when a tractor trailer plowed into his patrol car while he was making a U-turn on southbound Highway 395, authorities said Thursday.
Officer Richard E. Perkins, 51, was trying to help an Inyo County Sheriff's deputy pull over a suspected drunken driver when he made his turn, California Highway Patrol Officer Marc Morrison said.
Perkins responded to a broadcast of a possible DUI driver heading north on Highway 395, Morrison said. The officer spotted an Inyo County Sheriff's patrol car following a motorist and attempted to make his U-turn.
The 10:55 p.m. crash occurred just south of Bishop when Perkins' car was struck by a semi-tractor trailer that was traveling south behind him. Truck driver Jose L. Marquez, a 42-year-old El Paso, Texas, resident, was not injured during the crash. Perkins died of his injuries at Northern Inyo Hospital, police said.
"The cause and circumstances of the collision are under investigation by the Bishop office of the California Highway Patrol and the CHP's Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team out of San Bernardino," Morrison said.
Perkins has worked as an officer for the Bishop Police Department for more than 11 years. The small, close-knit Bishop force of 14 officers was devastated by the death.
"He was probably one of the most giving officers we ever had," said Officer Phil West, a close friend of Perkins. "If you needed anything, Rich was always there."
Before coming to the Bishop Police Department, Perkins had worked for the Mono County Sheriff's Department and the Mammoth Lakes Police Department, according to Bishop police. Perkins also had been a member of the U.S. Coast Guard. He was one of the founding members of the Bishop Police Mounted Unit.
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Please say a little prayer for Officer Perkins, and his family.
Officer Richard E. Perkins
Bishop Police Department
<B>This is the story as reported by the Associated Press.</b>
A Bishop police officer was killed late Wednesday when a tractor trailer plowed into his patrol car while he was making a U-turn on southbound Highway 395, authorities said Thursday.
Officer Richard E. Perkins, 51, was trying to help an Inyo County Sheriff's deputy pull over a suspected drunken driver when he made his turn, California Highway Patrol Officer Marc Morrison said.
Perkins responded to a broadcast of a possible DUI driver heading north on Highway 395, Morrison said. The officer spotted an Inyo County Sheriff's patrol car following a motorist and attempted to make his U-turn.
The 10:55 p.m. crash occurred just south of Bishop when Perkins' car was struck by a semi-tractor trailer that was traveling south behind him. Truck driver Jose L. Marquez, a 42-year-old El Paso, Texas, resident, was not injured during the crash. Perkins died of his injuries at Northern Inyo Hospital, police said.
"The cause and circumstances of the collision are under investigation by the Bishop office of the California Highway Patrol and the CHP's Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team out of San Bernardino," Morrison said.
Perkins has worked as an officer for the Bishop Police Department for more than 11 years. The small, close-knit Bishop force of 14 officers was devastated by the death.
"He was probably one of the most giving officers we ever had," said Officer Phil West, a close friend of Perkins. "If you needed anything, Rich was always there."
Before coming to the Bishop Police Department, Perkins had worked for the Mono County Sheriff's Department and the Mammoth Lakes Police Department, according to Bishop police. Perkins also had been a member of the U.S. Coast Guard. He was one of the founding members of the Bishop Police Mounted Unit.
__________________________________________________ __
Please say a little prayer for Officer Perkins, and his family.