Arkansas State Police, Arkansas
End of Watch: Sunday, July 27, 1969
Age: 29
Tour of Duty: 1 year
Badge Number: 253
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: July 27, 1969
Weapon Used: Handgun; .22 caliber
Suspect Info: Died in prison
Trooper Bufford was shot and killed while making a traffic stop. As Trooper Bufford was writing out a citation to the woman driver for speeding her male passenger exited the vehicle and shot him.
The suspect, 31, had recently been paroled from the Arkansas Penitentiary after serving seven years of a 21 year sentence for the murder of a fellow inmate. He was convicted of Trooper Bufford's murder and sentenced to life in prison on January 19th, 1970. He died in prison on August 7, 2005.
Trooper Bufford was a U.S. Air Force veteran and had served with the Arkansas State Police for one year. He was survived by his expectant wife and two children.