Edward Plank

Maryland State Police — Pikesville, MD

Felonious

End of Watch October 17, 1995

Age 28

Tour of Duty 7 yrs

The Vigil Panel 142 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 41

Incident

Trooper Edward Plank was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Route 13, near Perry Road in Westover, at 1:09 a.m. Unbeknownst to Trooper Plank, the driver and passenger of the car were returning to the state after purchasing narcotics. Trooper Plank called for backup when he became suspicious of the driver. After conferring with another officer he approached the vehicle a second time, at which point he was shot in the face and killed instantly. The two subjects fled but were caught later in the day. One of the men was caught after breaking into a house. The owner of the house clubbed the man with an empty rifle after being shot at and then held the man until police arrived. Four hundred grams of cocaine were found in the car that Trooper Plank had stopped. The shooter plead guilty to first-degree murder on May 14th, 1996, and was sentenced to death. In July 1998 the suspect's death sentence was overturned and he now is facing life in prison. Trooper Plank had served with the Maryland State Police for seven years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, a 7-month-old daughter, and his parents.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-MD-B7F57A30
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 never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Trooper First Class Plank gave the Maryland State Police 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Maryland. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper First Class Plank.

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

Agency

Department Maryland State Police

Location Pikesville, MD

Platform Identity msp.md.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 17, 1995

Tour of Duty 7 yrs

Age 28

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Handgun; .45 caliber

Offender Sentenced to life

Trooper First Class Edward Plank is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In MD, 195 of 377 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 51.7% of this state's fallen. That is 2.5 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.

At Maryland State Police, 14 of 42 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.

Maryland State Police

of 42 officers

33.3% Felonious

MD — Statewide

195

of 377 officers

51.7% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious