Police Officer Elwood L. Ridge

Elwood L. Ridge

Officer Ridge was shot and killed when he intervened in a domestic dispute while on patrol. While attempting to separate a man and his wife the man grabbed Officer Ridge's handgun from his holster and shot him in the back. The shooter was arrested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the next day for throwing bottles at cars. He bragged to the Philadelphia police officer that he had killed a cop in New Jersey.

The 23-year-old suspect was convicted of murder and sentenced to life. In 1995 the parole board notified no one when they approved his parole. The reaction of infuriated police and family members led the board to rescind his parole indefinitely.

Officer Ridge had been with the agency for four years and was survived by his expectant wife.