Tacoma Police Department, Washington
End of Watch: Sunday, November 23, 1941
Age: 43
Tour of Duty: 8 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Automobile crash
Date of Incident: November 23, 1941
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Officer Paul Trent and Officer Martin Joyce were killed when their patrol car collided with a Pierce County Sheriff's Department patrol car occupied by Deputy Sheriff Arthur Varco and Deputy Sheriff Lawrence Bunce.
The crash occurred at the intersection of 11th Avenue and Pacific Avenue. The deputies were responding to an accident while the officers were responding to an unrelated attempted suicide. Officer Joyce succumbed to his injuries two days later. The other three officers were killed instantly.
Officer Trent was a U.S. Army veteran of WWI and had served with the Tacoma Police Department for eight years. He was survived by his wife and son.