California Highway Patrol, California
End of Watch Friday, December 22, 1978
Add to My HeroesRoy 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
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Most Recent Reflection
View all 39 ReflectionsRoy 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
