Mansfield Police Department, Texas
End of Watch: Friday, May 23, 1986
Age: 45
Tour of Duty: 20 years
Badge Number: 001
Cause of Death: Motorcycle crash
Date of Incident: May 23, 1986
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Officer Danny Cordes was killed when his police motorcycle was struck by a trailer that had come loose from a pickup truck at 10:15 am.
Officer Cordes was traveling westbound on East Broad Street when a pickup truck with a trailer traveling eastbound became disconnected. The trailer hit Officer Cordes head-on, and he died en route to the hospital.
The driver of the truck fled the scene. It was later determined that he had escaped jail in Missouri and was on the FBI's Most Wanted list. The subject turned himself in a few months later.
Officer Cordes had served with the Mansfield Police Department for 20 years. He was survived by his wife and two children.