# Officer Down: TROOPER STEVE SMITH - [GROVE, Oklahoma]



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Ok TROOPER DIES FROM INJURIES 7 YEARS LATER

OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS REGRET TO ANNOUNCE THE PASSING OF RETIRED TROOPER STEVEN R. SMITH, #725. HE PASSED ON FEBRUARY 9, 2006 AT APPROXIMATELY 9:21 P.M. AT A REST HOME IN JENKS, OKLAHOMA. 


STEVEN R. SMITH, A STATE TROOPER OF THE OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY PATROL WAS ASSIGNED TO DELAWARE COUNTY DETACHMENT. HE WAS SHOT IN THE NECK BY MR. CALTON D. DAVIS, WHO HAD MURDERED HIS WIFE AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO COMMIT SUICIDE. 

ON MAY 25, 1999 AT 7:15 P.M, OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY PATROL TROOPER EDDIE ROSE AND GROVE POLICE DEPARTMENT RESPONDED TO A REPORTED HOMICIDE WHERE A BODY WAS FOUND IN BERNICE CEMETERY. SHORTLY AFTER THEY ARRIVED ON THE SCENE, AN ARMED MAN CONFRONTED THEM. THE OFFICERS DIRECTED DAVIS TO SURRENDER HIS WEAPON BUT HE REFUSED. TROOPER SMITH, HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR, AND THE DELAWARE COUNTY SHERIFF ARRIVED TO ASSIST. DURING A STRUGGLE WITH THE SUSPECT, BOTH OFFICERS WERE WOUNDED FROM SHOTS FIRED BY THE SUSPECT. THE SUSPECT THEN SHOT AND KILLED HIMSELF. THE FELONIOUS ASSAULT ON TROOPER SMITH RESULTED IN EXTENSIVE INJURIES WHICH HAD LEFT HIM PERMANENTLY AND TOTALLY DISABLED AS A QUADRIPLEGIC AND FORCED TO TAKE MEDICAL RETIREMENT ON DECEMBER 1, 2000. THESE INJURIES ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN HIS DEATH.


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

The Officer Down Memorial Page Remembers . . .






















Trooper Steven R. Smith 
*Oklahoma Highway Patrol
Oklahoma*
End of Watch: Thursday, February 9, 2006

Biographical Info
*Age:* 43
*Tour of Duty:* 5 years
*Badge Number:* 725

Incident Details
*Cause of Death:* Gunfire
*Date of Incident:* Tuesday, May 25, 1999
*Weapon Used*: Handgun
*Suspect Info:* Committed suicide

Trooper Smith succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained almost 7 years earlier when he was shot in the neck while struggling with a suspect.

Another trooper and an officer from the Grove Police Department had responded to a cemetery to investigate reports of a murder. Shortly after arriving at the scene they were confronted by an armed man who held them at bay. Trooper Smith and the Delaware County sheriff responded to the scene to backup the officers.

As the officers negotiated with the man, he set his handgun down on a table. Trooper Smith and the sheriff took the opportunity to try to subdue the man. During the ensuing struggle the suspect was able to grab his gun and fired it several times, wounding both officers. The man then committed suicide.

Trooper Smith's neck wound rendered him a quadriplegic. He was forced to take a medical retirement the following year and remained in a nursing home until passing away as a result of the wound.

At the time of his medical retirement, Trooper Smith had served with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for 5 years. He is survived by his two children.

Agency Contact Information
Oklahoma Highway Patrol
3600 N. Martin Luther King Ave
PO Box 11415
Oklahoma City, OK 73136

Phone: (405) 425-2424

* _Please contact the agency for funeral information_

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