San Francisco Police Department, California
End of Watch: Tuesday, January 11, 2000
Age: 56
Tour of Duty: 29 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Aircraft accident
Date of Incident: January 11, 2000
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Police Officer James Dougherty and Inspector Kirk Brookbush were killed when their helicopter crashed near Crows Landing, Stanislaus County.
The officers were flying a Bell Jet Ranger OH-58 helicopter on a routine flight from a maintenance facility in Tulare County to San Francisco. They requested a flight level below 1,000 feet because of foggy conditions. After the request was made, at approximately 9:00 pm, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens. After an all night search, the wreckage was discovered at 8:30 am the next morning in a field near I-5.
Officer Dougherty was an experienced aircraft mechanic before joining the San Francisco Police Department. He had served with the San Francisco Police Department for 29 years. He is survived by his three children.