Donald E. Gregory
Agency patch
Sergeant

Donald E. Gregory

Missoula Police Department — Missoula, MT
Accident
End of Watch January 27, 1976
Age 31
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
The Vigil Panel 116 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant Donald Gregory was accidentally shot and killed when a shotgun being held by another officer accidentally discharged when it was knocked against a wall. He and the other officer had responded to a home to investigate a disturbance and aggravated assault involving a firearm. One of the first responding officers located the suspect attempting to assemble a firearm in the basement of the home. As the officer ordered the man to turn around, the officer's shotgun slammed into the wall, causing it to discharge just as Sergeant Gregory came down the stairs to assist. The blast struck Sergeant Gregory in the head, killing him. The suspect in the original case the officers were investigating was taken into custody on the original aggravated assault charge. Sergeant Gregory had served with the Missoula Police Department for eight years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, daughter, father, and eight siblings.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MT-CC40E575
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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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Sergeant Gregory gave the Missoula Police Department 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Missoula community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Gregory.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Missoula, Missoula County, MT
Platform Identity mpd.missoula.mt.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 27, 1976
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
Age 31
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Sergeant Donald E. Gregory is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In MT, 34 of 142 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.9% of this state's fallen. That is 23.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Missoula Police Department, 1 of 4 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25% of this agency's fallen.

Missoula Police Department
1
of 4 officers
25% Accident
MT — Statewide
34
of 142 officers
23.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Donald E. Gregory's cause is highlighted.

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

How Donald E. Gregory Compares

Age at Death
31
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
8
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Donald E. Gregory is highlighted in Jan.

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