Dennis Charles Doty

Riverside Police Department — Riverside, CA

Veteran → Veteran → Felonious

End of Watch May 13, 1982

Age 35

Tour of Duty 10 yrs

The Vigil Panel 125 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Military Department 14

Incident

Officer Dennis Doty and Officer Philip Trust were shot and killed while serving a warrant to a man who had not reported for his 13-year prison sentence. At 8:30 a.m., they went to the home on Wolfe Street. Officer Doty and Officer Trust were granted entrance into the house and found the disabled man sitting naked on a bed. As they helped him get dressed, the suspect pulled out a handgun and shot both officers. The suspect had been sitting on the gun. Officer Trust was able to return fire and struck the suspect in the hand. The round remained in the suspect's hand and was a crucial piece of evidence in the ensuing trial. The suspect, who had been paralyzed from the waist down two years earlier in a shootout with a Riverside police officer while robbing a bank, was found guilty of their murders and sentenced to death. It is believed that the motive of the shooting was revenge for the previous shooting. In 2005, a judge overturned the suspect's death sentence on claims by the defense that the suspect suffered from schizophrenia. He was retried and again sentenced to death on January 28, 2010. The suspect died in prison while still on death row in October 2024. Officer Doty was a U.S. Army Veteran of Vietnam and was the recipient of a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He had served with the Riverside Police Department for 10 years.

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Permanent identifier: BO-US-CA-D5F86843
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: August 2, 2026
Last updated: August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Army, salute.nw. One record, 3 gates. Dennis is one person.

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Tributes

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Police Officer Doty gave the Riverside Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Riverside community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Department Riverside Police Department

Type Police Department

Location Riverside, Riverside County, CA

Platform Identity rpd.riverside.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 13, 1982

Tour of Duty 10 yrs

Age 35

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Handgun

Military Service

Dennis Charles Doty served in the the United States military (1968â1970) before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Police Officer Dennis Charles Doty is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.

In CA, 974 of 1,837 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53% of this state's fallen. That is 53 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Riverside Police Department, 14 of 15 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 93.3% of this agency's fallen.

Riverside Police Department

of 15 officers

93.3% Felonious

CA — Statewide

974

of 1,837 officers

53% Felonious

Nationwide

of 97,759 officers

0% Felonious