Philadelphia Police Department, Pennsylvania
End of Watch: Tuesday, November 13, 2001
Age: 52
Tour of Duty: 23 years
Badge Number: 1302
Cause of Death: Drowned
Date of Incident: November 13, 2001
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Officer Thomas Bray, a member of the police department's marine unit, drowned while attempting to recover a sunken channel marker in the Delaware River.
He and two other marine unit officers were working with the U.S. Coast Guard in an attempt to recover the buoy. Several minutes into the dive, Officer Bray radioed that he was tangled and was instructed to cut the line. However, he did not surface. Other officers were able to bring him to the surface and transport him to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Officer Bray had served with the Philadelphia Police Department for 23 years. He is survived by his wife and three grown children.