Frank Gilbert Dobler Sr.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department — St. Louis, MO

Felonious

End of Watch December 2, 1972

Age 58

Tour of Duty 29 yrs

The Vigil Panel 111 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 175

Incident

Police Officer Frank Glibert Dobler was shot and killed with his own service weapon by a cab driver he had told to move. Officer Dobler was directing traffic at the intersection of Sixth and Lucas Streets when the cab stopped on a crosswalk to pickup passengers. Officer Dobler told the cabbie to move the cab to the curb to pickup passengers and shut the cab's door. The cab driver got out of the cab and assaulted Officer Dobler, pulled Officer Dobler's jacket over his head, and pushed him to the ground. During the assault the cab driver gained control of Officer Dobler's service weapon and shot him once in the head. The suspect fled the scene in his cab. During a long series of shootouts with officers the man was finally arrested when his cab crashed after ramming a patrol car. The man was arrested but later hanged himself in his jail cell. Officer Dobler had directed holiday shopping traffic at the intersection he was murdered at for 15 years. He had served with the St.

Survivors

Louis Police Department for 29 years and was survived by his wife and two children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-MO-C4527478
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

29 years. You could have gone home.
Police Officer Dobler gave the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department 29 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the St. Louis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Dobler.

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

Agency

Department St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department

Type Police Department

Location St. Louis, MO

Platform Identity stlopd.saintlouis.mo.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 2, 1972

Tour of Duty 29 yrs

Age 58

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Officer's handgun

Police Officer Frank Gilbert Dobler Sr. 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 97,772 officers honored here.

In MO, 516 of 813 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 63.5% of this state's fallen. That is 63.5 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, 112 of 176 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 63.6% of this agency's fallen.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department

112

of 176 officers

63.6% Felonious

MO — Statewide

516

of 813 officers

63.5% Felonious

Nationwide

of 97,772 officers

0% Felonious