Peace Officer Memorial set for Thursday

Last year was a deadly one for Nevada law enforcement officers and the reality of that will hit home at the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial set for Thursday in Carson City.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police department lost four officers in the line of duty last year.

Those officers, along with a federal marshal killed outside a courthouse in Las Vegas in January, a railroad police officer killed in 1924, a Storey County deputy killed in 1948 and a state drug agent killed in 1975, will be among the nine honored at the ceremony on the Legislative grounds.

The number of officers who died in Las Vegas in 2009 is the most lost from one agency since Nevada became a territory, said Frank Adams, Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Commission member and memorial organizer.

Those honorees are:

• U.S. Department of Justice Special Deputy Marshal Stanley Cooper, 72, shot and killed Jan. 4, 2010 in the lobby of the Lloyd George Federal Courthouse in Las Vegas. The suspect was also killed in the ensuing gunfight.

• Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer James Manor, killed May 7, 2009, in a car accident while responding to an emergency call.

• Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Millburn "Millie" Beitel III, 30, killed Oct. 8, 2009, in a car accident while responding to an emergency call.

• Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Trevor Nettleton, 30, shot and killed in the garage of his home Nov. 19, 2009, when confronted by robbery suspects. He returned fire and wounded one of the suspects. All three were apprehended.

• Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Correctional Officer Daniel Leach, 49, killed on Nov. 21, 2009, as the result of a motor vehicle accident while driving a prisoner transport van.

• Nevada Department of Corrections Sgt. Vincent Tatum, 26, was murdered in Las Vegas in 1982 as a result of an investigation he was conducting at one of the prisons. His killer remains unknown.

• Nevada Division of Investigations and Narcotics Agent Ron Haskell, who was severely beaten by four suspects in 1969. He died Jan. 4, 1975, from injuries sustained in that beating.

• Storey County Deputy Hugh J. Gallagher, 67, died of a heart attack April 30, 1948, while responding to a prowler call.

• Southern Pacific Railroad Police Officer Eveleigh Bates died in 1924 while guarding a train in Huxley, Nev., when he fell between the cars.

The ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. when Carson City deputies, running the final leg of a 113-leg run from Las Vegas, hand off the memorial baton containing the names of all Nevada officers killed in the line of duty. The baton left Las Vegas on Thursday and is being carried my law enforcement runners from various agencies across the state.

Nye County Sheriff's Deputy Ian Deutsch, 27, shot and killed April 26 in Pahrump, will be honored during next years' ceremony, said Adams.