Cotton County Sheriff's Office, Oklahoma
End of Watch: Thursday, October 19, 1995
Age: 23
Tour of Duty: 2 years
Badge Number: 208
Cause of Death: Automobile crash
Date of Incident: October 18, 1995
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Deputy Sheriff Joseph Latimer was killed in a vehicle crash at SH 65 and Central Street as he responded to a call to backup officers involved in a gang shootout.
Deputy Latimer was assisting Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers to investigate a traffic collision just north of Temple, Oklahoma. During the investigation, Temple Police requested assistance in dealing with a large crowd at the scene of a drive-by shooting. Deputy Latimer radioed that he was responding to assist the Temple officers. The dispatcher then lost radio contact with him.
A short time later, a Temple officer found Deputy Latimer's wrecked patrol car. Deputy Latimer had been thrown 15-feet from the vehicle. He was airlifted to a hospital in Lawton but was pronounced dead on arrival on the morning of October 19th, 1995.
Deputy Latimer is survived by his wife and daughter.