Douglas E. Gibbs
Agency patch
Officer

Douglas E. Gibbs

San Francisco Police Department — San Francisco, CA
Felonious
End of Watch October 1, 1977
Age 27
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
Badge 193
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Douglas Gibbs was shot and fatally wounded as he was placing a man under arrest for pickpocketing near the intersection of Jones Street and Golden Gate Avenue. Officer Gibbs was a member of the police decoy unit. After setting up an operation, the unit moved in on a suspect for an arrest. After the suspect was apprehended, he was placed on the hood of Officer Gibbs' car so he could be searched. As Officer Gibbs was conducting the search, another suspect walked up behind him and shot him twice in the back. He died from his wounds five days later. The shooting suspect, 33, later surrendered to police. He had been paroled one year earlier after serving a short sentence for beating to death a 93-year-old man. The suspect had been in trouble with the law since he was 13 years old. His long criminal record included robbery, burglary, child molestation, assault, and murder. In 1969 he was convicted of murdering a retired sea captain and seriously wounding his wife. After a few days in prison, he was released because of a legal technicality. On June 2, 1978, he was convicted of Officer Gibb's murder and sentenced to life without parole. Officer Gibbs had served with the San Francisco Police Department for five years.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and three daughters.

In Our Keeping

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Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer Gibbs gave the San Francisco Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the San Francisco community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Gibbs.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location San Francisco, CA
Platform Identity sfpd.sf.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 1, 1977
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
Age 27
Badge Number 193
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Handgun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

Douglas is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,552 remembered there.

34,103 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 1977, 128 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 36th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Douglas was 27. Of the 14,219 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. Douglas had served 5 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

October holds 7.9% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Saturdays: 16.3%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,552 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was handgun, in 23.4% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

San Francisco Police Department has 106 officers remembered here, Douglas among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Officer Douglas E. Gibbs

San Francisco Police Department · End of Watch October 1, 1977

Where the Name Is Cut

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