Navajo Police Sergeant To Be Honored 60 Years After Death

Editor's note: the photo credits in this article have been updated.

PHOENIX, AZ — A Navajo Nation public safety sergeant killed in the line of duty nearly 60 years ago is finally getting the national honor he deserves, thanks to a Phoenix police sergeant, according to a release from the Phoenix Police Department.

Phoenix police Sgt. Vince Cole was taking a crime report in August 2019 from Candace Ramsey when he noticed a Navajo Nation Police Patch, the release says. Cole asked about it, and "she beamed with pride."

Ramsey's grandfather, Gordon James, wore that patch as a Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety sergeant over 60 years ago. He was killed by a drunken driver.

Cole asked Ramsey if she had gone to see her grandfather's name etched on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. "His name is not on that wall," she said, according to the release.

Cole did some research, learning that James was a Korean War veteran before his time as a Navajo Nation officer. He also confirmed that James was killed on Aug. 30, 1960, by a drunken driver.

The release says Cole reached out to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Foundation. Nearly six months later, the foundation informed Ramsey that her grandfather, Sgt. Gordon C. James, would have his name etched onto the memorial during the May 13, 2020, Annual Candlelight Vigil.

"I am so proud of my grandfather — it is such a great honor," Ramsey said, according to the release.

"A chance meeting that united two law enforcement families together so one man's heroic actions will never be forgotten," the release said.

See the Phoenix police press release.