Giacomo "Jack" Buffa
Agency patch
Police Officer

Giacomo "Jack" Buffa

Detroit Police Department — Detroit, MI
Accident
End of Watch February 5, 1986
Age 37
Tour of Duty 13 yrs
Badge 1202
The Vigil Panel 130 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Jack Buffa and Officer Mark Radden were shot and killed in a case of mistaken identity. Officer Buffa and his partner, who were in plainclothes, were performing a drug raid at a home at 537 E. Euclid around 6 pm. At the same time as the raid, Officer Radden and his partner, also in plainclothes, were responding to reports of a shooting at the same home. Neither pair of officers knew the other was at the home and when they encountered each other shots were exchanged. Officer Radden and Officer Buffa were both fatally wounded. Officer Buffa had served with the Detroit Police Department for 13 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, son, parents, brother, and sister.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-CD4A1E49
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.
Police Officer Buffa gave the Detroit Police Department 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Buffa.

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

Agency

Location Detroit, MI
Platform Identity detpd.wayne.mi.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 5, 1986
Tour of Duty 13 yrs
Age 37
Badge Number 1202
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Police Officer Giacomo "Jack" Buffa 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 MI, 229 of 718 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Detroit Police Department, 58 of 250 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.2% of this agency's fallen.

Detroit Police Department
58
of 250 officers
23.2% Accident
MI — Statewide
229
of 718 officers
31.9% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Giacomo "Jack" Buffa's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Giacomo "Jack" Buffa Compares

Age at End of Watch
37
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
13
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Giacomo "Jack" Buffa is highlighted in Feb.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location