SEATTLE — As law enforcement officials throughout Washington mourn the loss of a Washington State Patrol trooper on March 2, the former King County sheriff is providing insight on the emotional toll and agency processes following a line-of-duty death.
Just before 3 a.m., a suspect was driving southbound on I-5 at a high rate of speed near Marysville when he allegedly collided with a Washington State Patrol trooper's vehicle on the shoulder, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, killing 27-year-old Christopher Gadd.
While the suspect is in custody, many are left to process the trooper's death.
Former King County Sheriff John Urquhart described the law enforcement profession as “one big family.” A loss for one police agency is often felt deeply across the state and country for others in public service, he said.
“It’s such a gut punch when something like this happens,” Urquhart said. “We all go to work not thinking of [this], doesn’t even cross our minds that something may happen, we might not come home, we might get hurt. So, when somebody does, even if it’s not ourselves … it really affects us a lot.”
Gadd’s father is also a Washington State Patrol trooper serving the Bellevue district, according to WSP, and his sister is a state trooper in Texas.
“It’s such a great family that they would dedicate their lives to serving their community,” Urquhart said.
Gadd’s death marks the 33rd trooper to be killed in the line of duty in the Washington State Patrol’s 103-year history, according to WSP Chief John Batiste.
In the last year, 37 officers died in traffic-related incidents across the country, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Twenty-seven of whom were killed in vehicle or motorcycle crashes. Of the 2023 total, 10 officers were killed in struck-by incidents, when an officer is fatally struck by another driver while outside of their own patrol vehicle, the fatalities report states.
Urquhart said line-of-duty tragedies make law enforcement officers stop and think – but that serving the public must continue. One of the most important roles fellow troopers will hold is accompanying Gadd’s body until his burial, Urquhart said.
“We don’t want Trooper Gadd to be alone between now and the time he’s buried,” Urquhart explained. A trooper will be on guard with Gadd at the medical examiner’s office, during any transports and to his memorial service, he explained.
“He will always, 24-hours a day, he will have a trooper Honor Guard with him,” he said. Troopers will also be at his house to support his immediate and extended family.
“His family is our family," he said. "And we’re going to do everything we possibly can to support them in this terrible, terrible tragic time."