Chief of Police Richard Edgar Oliver

Richard Edgar Oliver

Chief of Police Richard Oliver was killed during a vehicle pursuit.

He and a reserve officer applicant were patrolling the streets of Canute. Witnessing a motorist run a stop sign, they started a pursuit. About three miles south of Canute, the suspect turned his truck around and headed northbound back toward the officers. Just as the vehicles met at the top of a hill, the suspect's truck was left of center and hit the chief’s patrol car head on. Chief Oliver and the reserve officer applicant were both killed instantly.

The suspect was transported to the McBride Bone and Joint Hospital in Oklahoma City with two fractures to the right leg and facial lacerations. The man was convicted of two counts of first degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Chief Oliver was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam War and had just been appointed as chief the previous month. He was a widower and survived by his 9-year-old daughter, parents, and two siblings.