Buena Park Police Department, California
End of Watch: Thursday, September 21, 1972
Age: 45
Tour of Duty: 10 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: September 21, 1972
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Released in 1982
Detective Darrel Cate was shot and killed while he and his partner searched a residence for a felony suspect at 939 South Emerald Street in Anaheim.
The suspect was wanted for a sex offense involving a woman. When the detectives arrived at the home, the subject was working under his vehicle and stated that the man they were looking for lived down the street. The other detective went to the neighbor's home to question the subject's location. Detective Cate stayed at the house where the man followed him and shot him in the head and chest. The suspect fled, and a manhunt ensued.
Detective Cate was transported to the hospital, succumbing to his injuries an hour later.
The suspect was apprehended and convicted of second-degree murder in 1973 in connection with Detective Cate's murder but released in 1982. In 2006 he was added to the US Marshals Service 15 Most Wanted List after violating parole on unrelated charges in Virginia. Deputy U.S. Marshals, task force officers from the Merced County Sheriff's Office, and the California Department of Corrections arrested the suspect on unrelated charges at a group home on June 01, 2010.
Detective Cate served with the Buena Park Police Department for ten years. He was survived by his wife and five children.