Officer Roy P. Blecher, California Highway Patrol, California

Officer Roy P. Blecher

California Highway Patrol, California

End of Watch Friday, December 22, 1978

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Roy P. Blecher

Officer Roy Blecher and Officer Mike Freeman were shot and killed while patrolling together on I-80 in West Sacramento.

Their bodies were found after they made a traffic stop at approximately 3:00 a.m. Investigators found a sign of a struggle. Officer Blecher was found with his hands handcuffed behind his back and shot once in the head. Officer Freeman was shot five times.

The suspect was eventually apprehended and sentenced to life. He died in prison on April 16th, 2016.

Officer Blecher was a United States Marine Corps and California Army National Guard veteran. He had served with the California Highway Patrol for 21 years. He is survived by his wife and a son.

In 1994, an elevated portion of Interstate 80, known as the Yolo Causeway, was designated the Blecher-Freeman Memorial Causeway in honor of the fallen officers.

Bio

Age 50
Tour 21 years
Badge 2455
Military Veteran

Incident Details

Cause Gunfire
Weapon Gun; Unknown type
Offender Sentenced to life

traffic stop

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Roy was one of my senior officer mentors when I worked with him in the SLA office right out of the academy, circa June 1967. I was only 22 and respected his steady, confident demeanor as he helped me to adjust to law enforcement. When he passed on this day in 1978 I was working at the Ukiah C.H.P. area office; Mendocino County. To be sure, had I known what was taking place in Yolo County I would have rolled code 3 to try and assist in some way. And that hat, Chris. We called it the "50 mission crush"; the style of the times for those who earned it.

Tim Liddell
CA Hwy Patrol 5342 ( retired )

December 22, 2024