Los Angeles Police Department, California
End of Watch: Saturday, February 8, 1986
Age: 46
Tour of Duty: 21 years
Badge Number: 12241
Cause of Death: Bomb
Date of Incident: February 8, 1986
Weapon Used: Explosives; Pipe bomb
Suspect Info: Not available
Detective Arleigh McCree and Officer Ronald Ball were killed while attempting to defuse two booby-trapped pipe bombs.
The officers, both members of the Bomb Squad, were called to a home that was being searched in connection with a shooting. The officers conducting the search located the two pipe bombs in a garage and called the Bomb Squad to the scene. While examining the devices, the officers determined they were booby-trapped and moved all of the other officers away from the scene.
As Detective McCree and Officer Ball attempted to defuse the bombs, they detonated, killing Detective McCree instantly and fatally wounding Officer Ball, who succumbed to the wounds at a local hospital several hours later.
Detective McCree was a U.S. Navy veteran and a world-renowned bomb expert who assisted with the investigation of the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Lebanon. He was even offered a high-paying job by the dictator Moammar Khadafy to train terrorists how to build bombs. He served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 21 years. He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.