David Z. Ernst
Agency patch
Trooper

David Z. Ernst

New Jersey State Police — West Trenton, NJ
Accident
End of Watch August 4, 1927
Age 27
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 1 mo
The Vigil Panel 53 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Trooper Ernst succumbed to injuries sustained the previous day when he was involved in a motorcycle accident while on patrol. He was told to go home and return to office work the following day. While seated at his desk he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-FE1571DF
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
September 9, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

You barely got started.
Trooper Ernst gave the New Jersey State Police 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Ernst.

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

Agency

Type State Police
Location West Trenton, NJ
Platform Identity njsp.nj.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 4, 1927
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 1 mo
Age 27
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Motorcycle crash

Trooper David Z. Ernst is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,787 officers honored here.

In NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 39.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At New Jersey State Police, 53 of 84 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 63.1% of this agency's fallen.

New Jersey State Police
53
of 84 officers
63.1% Accident
NJ — Statewide
258
of 646 officers
39.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,787 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. David Z. Ernst's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How David Z. Ernst Compares

Age at Death
27
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
1.1
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. David Z. Ernst is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Where the Name Is Cut