Apache County Sheriff's Office, Arizona
End of Watch: Sunday, September 2, 1973
Age: 32
Tour of Duty: 5 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: September 2, 1973
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Sentenced to 20 years
Deputy Sheriff Del Berry was shot and killed on the Navajo Reservation in Lupton, Arizona.
He noticed approximately 20 people outside of a trading post and stopped to investigate. Unbeknownst to Deputy Berry, the group was looting the store. As he pulled into the parking lot, the group swarmed around his patrol car, and one of the men fired a shotgun into the vehicle, killing Deputy Berry. Deputy Berry's body was pulled from the vehicle, and five people, three adults, and two juvenile girls, then stole his patrol car and duty weapon.
The subjects who stole the patrol car were arrested a short time later. The man, 23, who shot Deputy Berry was arrested in Phoenix one month later and charged with murder. He was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to an indeterminate term of 20 years. The subject was released in 2021.
The large group was affiliated with the American Indian Movement.
Deputy Berry had only served with the Apache County Sheriff's Office for two weeks and had previously served with the McKinley County Sheriff's Office in New Mexico for five years. He was survived by his wife and three children.