El Paso Police Department, Texas
End of Watch: Thursday, August 29, 1985
Age: 37
Tour of Duty: 13 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 3, 1983
Weapon Used: Handgun; .22 caliber
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Detective Chuck Heinrich succumbed to a gunshot wound received two years earlier after he and his partner stopped to talk to a man outside the Shamrock Hotel at 6101 Dyer Street.
The partner had recognized the man as a person he had arrested before on weapons charges. As they exited their patrol car, the man started to walk away. When they started to walk towards him, he turned and fired a .22 caliber handgun at them, striking Detective Heinrich in the head. He was transported to a local hospital, where he remained in a coma until his death. The suspect was sentenced to life in prison.
Detective Heinrich was a United States Navy Vietnam veteran who had served with the El Paso Police Department for 13 years and had just been named Detective of the Year. He was survived by his wife and six-year-old son.