Riverside County Sheriff's Department, California
End of Watch Tuesday, May 13, 2003
Add to My HeroesBruce Kevin Lee
Deputy Lee was beaten to death with his service baton after responding to a domestic disturbance call on Avenida Velazco Street, in La Quinta, at 0940 hours.
The call involved reports of an emotionally disturbed man attempting to break into his parents' home. Deputy Lee became involved in a struggle with the suspect, and was beaten. Deputy Lee suffered severe head injuries from the attack.
Deputy Lee's backup officer arrived on the scene and found Deputy Lee unconscious. The suspect then began to approach the backup officer with the baton. The suspect refused to drop the baton and was shot and killed. Deputy Lee was transported to Desert Regional Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries approximately two hours later.
Deputy Lee had been employed with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for 22 years.
Bio
- Age 45
- Tour 22 years
- Badge 1088
Incident Details
- Cause Assault
- Weapon Blunt object; Baton
- Offender Shot and killed
Most Recent Reflection
View all 156 ReflectionsTime swiftly moves but memories of the heart fade slow. Deputy Lee was my Riverside County Sheriff's Academy classmate, 81st Basic. We became very supportive of each other during the Academy during fall of 1980. We grew up not far from each other. Here I am 39 years later, proudly serving as a Department of Veterans Affairs Police Department officer. We were the 81st Basic. The days of revolvers, pencil to paper reports and taking time for each other rather than electronic devices.
Officer Samuel Knight
Department of Veterans Affairs
May 13, 2019
Recent LODD Deaths
Deputy Sheriff Benjamin Nimtz
Broward County Sheriff's Office, FL
EOW: July 21, 2019
Sergeant Michael Stephen
Stone County Sheriff's Office, AR
EOW: July 18, 2019
Conservation Officer Shannon Lee "Opie" Barron
Red Lake Nation Conservation Department, TR
EOW: July 7, 2019
Deputy Sheriff Nicholas Blane Dixon
Hall County Sheriff's Office, GA
EOW: July 7, 2019
Deputy Sheriff Omar Diaz
Harris County Sheriff's Office, TX
EOW: July 6, 2019
Police Officer John Ralph Anderson, IV
Metro Nashville Police Department, TN
EOW: July 4, 2019
Deputy Sheriff Carlos A. Ramirez
Kendall County Sheriff's Office, TX
EOW: July 2, 2019
Detective Luis Alvarez
New York City Police Department, NY
EOW: June 29, 2019
Deputy Sheriff Troy P. Chisum
Fulton County Sheriff's Office, IL
EOW: June 25, 2019