Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Schultz drowned in a canal in North Phoenix while searching for evidence in a murder case.
Officer Schultz was a master diver and part of the department's nine-member dive team.
On May 10, 2004, the team entered a canal in North Phoenix, near 19th Avenue and Hatcher Road, to search for evidence in a murder investigation. While in the water, Officer Schultz was separated from his tender line and was pulled into the canal gate. He was under water for as long as 10 minutes without a breathing device. Rescuers pried open the canal's gate and freed him from the 1-foot opening where he had become trapped.
Officer Schultz was taken to John C. Lincoln Hospital-North Mountain, where he remained in critical condition on life support. His family elected to remove him from life support on the afternoon of May 12, 2004, following two days of intensive efforts to revive him.
Officer Schultz had served with the Phoenix Police Department for 20 years. In addition to his duties as a member of the dive team, Officer Schultz also served full time as a helicopter pilot for the Phoenix Police Department. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran and military policeman.
Officer Schultz was survived by his wife and mother.
Survivors
Officer Schultz was survived by his wife and mother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AZ-7487C903- 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
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 Schultz gave the Phoenix Police Department 20 years.
Thank you for your service to the Phoenix community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Donald Ralph Schultz served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Police Officer Donald Ralph Schultz is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In AZ, 95 of 330 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.8% of this state's fallen. That is 2.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Phoenix Police Dept., 14 of 47 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Donald Ralph Schultz's cause is highlighted.
How Donald Ralph Schultz Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Donald Ralph Schultz is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
46 officers from Phoenix Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
