Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Don Riffe died as the result of contracting COVID-19 in a presumed exposure while on duty.
Chief Riffe had served with the Jefferson College Police Department for seven years and had previously served as a special agent with the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division for 30-1/2 years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Chief of Police Don Riffe died on January 20, 2022 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 59.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-284EACDE- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Chief of Police Riffe gave the Jefferson College Police Department 37 years.
Thank you for your service to the Hillsboro community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Riffe.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Don Riffe served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Chief of Police Don Riffe is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In MO, 26 of 813 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.2% of this state's fallen. That is 5.9 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Don Riffe's cause is highlighted.
How Don Riffe Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Don Riffe is highlighted in Jan.