DEA Wall Of Honor

This month we remember...

Task Force Officer Jorge R. DelRio

November 07, 2019

On November 4, 2019, Jorge R. DelRio, a Dayton, Ohio, police officer and a 19-year Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer, along with other members of the DEA Dayton Resident Office, were executing a federal narcotics search warrant at a residence in Dayton. During the search, Task Force Officer DelRio was shot twice and eventually succumbed to his injuries on November 7, 2019.

Special Agent Samuel S. Hicks

November 19, 2008

On November 19, 2008, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Samuel S. Hicks was tragically shot and killed during a joint DEA, FBI, and Pittsburgh Police Department operation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Special Agent Jay Balchunas

November 05, 2004

On October 29, 2004, Task Force Officer John “Jay” Balchunas was fatally wounded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He died from his injuries on November 5, 2004. Officer Balchunas was conducting surveillance as part of the Department of Justice/FBI Fall Threat Initiative prior to the national elections.

Special Agent Stephen J. Strehl

November 19, 1993

Stephen J. Strehl, a St. Louis, Missouri, police officer, was assigned to a Drug Enforcement Administration task force when he was killed in a helicopter crash on November 19, 1993. He was conducting a surveillance mission of a suspected indoor marijuana grow site. He was 35 years of age at the time of his death.

Special Agent Robert C. Lightfoot

November 23, 1977

After graduating from Tulane University, Special Agent Robert C. Lightfoot worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Vietnam and Thailand. He assisted the Thai Border Patrol Police before joining the Drug Enforcement Administration in 1974. Agent Lightfoot was fluent in Thai and worked in DEA's Chiang Mai Resident Office in northern Thailand. This experience assisted him greatly in his role as liaison between DEA's Bangkok office and the Royal Thai Government.

Detective Gerald Sawyer

November 06, 1973

Detective Gerald Sawyer of the Los Angeles, California, Police Department was killed on November 6, 1973, while working on a joint undercover investigation with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Detective Sawyer was killed by a cocaine trafficker during an attempted robbery of $144,000 intended for the undercover operation. He was 32 years of age at the time of his death.

Police Officer Gene A. Clifton

November 19, 1971

Police Officer Gene A. Clifton died on November 19, 1971, as a result of injuries received on October 1 during a joint operation with the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Officer Clifton was fatally wounded when a team of officers attempted to serve a search warrant and a suspect fired a handgun through a door, striking Clifton in the abdomen. He was 27 years of age at the time of his death.

Agent John W. Crozier

November 16, 1934

Agent John W. Crozier, of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, died from injuries received in an automobile accident. He was en route to Jacksonville, Florida, after attending federal court in Savannah, Georgia, when his official government vehicle collided with an unlit tractor-trailer that was obstructing the Atlantic Coastal Highway outside of Savannah. A load of cord wood on the trailer crashed through the top of the car, fracturing his skull. He was 36 years of age at the time of his death.

View the Complete Wall of Honor List