Officer Michael Lee Staples
United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigations
U.S. Government
End of Watch: Wednesday, September 4, 2002

Biographical Info
Age: 33
Tour of Duty: 8 years
Badge Number: 1463

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Automobile accident
Date of Incident: Wednesday, September 4, 2002
Incident Location: Minnesota
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available

Officer Michael Staples was killed when his patrol vehicle collided with a deer that had just been struck by another vehicle on County Road 27, near County Road 20, in Beltrami County, Minnesota at 0730 hours.

After being struck by the first vehicle, the deer was thrown into the air and went through the windshield of Officer Staples' patrol truck. He was on patrol in the Chippewa National Forest's Cass Ranger District near Bemidji, Minnesota at the time.

Officer Staples was a US Air Force veteran and had served with the US Forest Service for 8 years. He is survived by his wife and two sons.