Policeman Roger Renick Warren, Jr., Los Angeles Police Department, California

Policeman Roger Renick Warren, Jr.

Los Angeles Police Department, California

End of Watch Monday, May 8, 1967

Roger Renick Warren, Jr.

Policeman Roger Warren was shot and killed by a sniper while on duty.

Policeman Warren was on patrol with his field training officer when his training officer observed someone crouched behind a stone BBQ pit and decided to investigate. The training officer directed Policeman Warren to pull over so they could investigate. When the training officer exited the vehicle a gunshot was heard. A round from a .308 rifle struck Policeman Warren in the armpit.

The suspect was a 16-year-old thought to be seeking revenge on a liquor store manager who had a friend of the suspect arrested for shoplifting earlier in the day. It is also believed the suspect's intentions for the manager were interrupted by Policeman Warren and his training officer. The suspect was shot and killed by the training officer and an off duty police officer from across the street. Policeman Warren was transported to the hospital and he was pronounced dead as a result of the gunshot wound.

Policeman Warren had served with the Los Angeles Police Department for only one month and was assigned to the Van Nuys Division. He had previously served with the U.S. Air Force Air Police. He was survived by his wife, daughter, two brothers, two sisters, mother, and father.

Bio

Age 23
Tour 1 month
Badge 13168
Military Veteran

Incident Details

Cause Gunfire
Weapon Rifle; .308 caliber
Offender Shot and killed

juvenile offender, sniper

Most Recent Reflection

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RRW,
On what would have been your 75th birthday it seems appropriate to share portions of a letter I wrote to you about six months after you were killed. My thoughts are the same today as they were then.

“May 8, 1967 ended as the worst day of my life. You had been off work for the two days before and the three of us spent that time having fun and getting settled in our new apartment. Now it was your day to go back to work and you were so eager to get to the station and put on your uniform. Remembering our brief but sweet conversation before you walked out the door is what has helped me get through the dark days and months. After you left for work I called a friend to plan a surprise birthday party for you.......24 hours later I was planning your funeral instead. I know how happy you were when you left for work and I want to believe you were still that happy at the end because you were doing the work you loved. Over these months I’ve tried to remember some of the little things that made up our life together. Until Kelley arrived it was just the two of us. Without you I have no one to reminisce with because we lived far from our families and old friends and they weren’t part of our daily life.
When we were first married we lived in Hesperia and the vast Mojave Desert was our front yard. On your days off we did things like target shooting with your .22; you would line up tin cans and we’d lay on our bed shooting at them out our bedroom window. We had to stop doing that when we moved to Apple Valley about ten months later because the desert around us wasn’t as vast and unpopulated.
Our move to Albuquerque was a big deal for us because it took you off the TDY list to go to Vietnam. It also meant I didn’t have to go back to work. My 6 week maternity leave was almost up and I wasn’t looking forward to leaving Kelley with a babysitter. When we finally got on-base housing and started meeting our neighbors I noticed that no one was calling you Roger. Your explanation to me was that you never really liked your name. Since this was a new place with new friends you thought it was the perfect time to give yourself a name of your own choosing. You were so pleased with your new nickname that you kept it when you started the LAPD Academy.
My parents moved to Colorado and we would drive up to see them when we could. On one of our visits you and my Dad left in our VW Bug to go somewhere unknown. When you came back a few hours later you were driving a ‘66 Chevelle Super Sport 396 and you were beaming! On our 7 hour drive back to Albuquerque we climbed those mountain roads with ease and I think you grinned all the way.
The top secret base you were assigned to was in the desert and it was discovered that the desert critters had fleas that were carrying Bubonic Plague. All personnel were required to get Plague shots and the side effects were pretty tough. You spent a few days on the couch and that’s the only time I’ve ever known you to call in sick to work......and you really were down for the count.”

We were in our early twenties and the biggest things our life experiences taught us were 1) how to make it through a whole month on Air Force pay and still have food to eat
2) how to be supportive best friends to each other because we were all we had 3) how to parent a precocious red haired toddler. There’s nothing profound in these lessons learned but our life really did revolve around those things. Kelley will come to know your true legacy from your own words in the letters you wrote to me. She’ll read for herself how devoted we were to each other. She’ll see why losing you still affects me at the moment I’m writing this. People who did not know you or spend time with our little family of three have no concept of how close we were and how special our relationship was. We feel blessed and grateful for the time we had with you however short it was.
Kelley and I are thinking of you always and especially on the 75th anniversary of your birth. We know you watch over us constantly and you are forever in our hearts and souls.
Love,
Me

Nancy
Surviving spouse

May 25, 2018