Polk County Sheriff's Office, Nebraska
End of Watch: Monday, January 26, 2004
Age: 56
Tour of Duty: 20 years
Badge Number: 9413
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Date of Incident: January 26, 2004
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Sergeant Ronald Phillips suffered a fatal heart attack while attempting to free his patrol car after it became stuck during a snow storm.
After several attempts of trying to move it, he called for a tow truck. When the tow truck arrived eight minutes later, the driver found Sergeant Phillips suffering from cardiac arrest inside the patrol car. He was transported to Annie Jeffrey Memorial County Health Center where he died a short time later.
Sergeant Phillips had served with the Polk County Sheriff's Department for five years, and had served in law enforcement for 20 years. He had previously served as chief of police of Syracuse Police Department, Ainsworth Police Department, and Minden Police Department. He is survived by his wife and two sons.