Hector M. Nozario-Torres
Agency patch
Lieutenant

Hector M. Nozario-Torres

Puerto Rico Police Department — San Juan, 127
Accident
End of Watch November 5, 1995
Age 41
Tour of Duty 22 yrs
The Vigil Panel 142 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Lieutenant Hector Nozario-Torres and Agent William Perez-Madera were killed in an accident while in pursuit of a murder suspect. Agent Perez-Madera lost control of the patrol vehicle, striking a light post, killing Agent Perez-Madera upon impact. Lieutenant Nozario-Torres succumbed to his injuries hours later after being transported a local hospital. The suspect was apprehended minutes after the crash and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Survivors

Lieutenant Nozario-Torres had served with the agency for 22 and is survived by his wife and three daughters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-PR-96BFF79D
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

22 years. You could have gone home.
Lieutenant Nozario-Torres gave the Puerto Rico Police Department 22 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the San Juan community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Lieutenant Nozario-Torres.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location San Juan, 127
Platform Identity prpd.pr.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 5, 1995
Tour of Duty 22 yrs
Age 41
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Weapon Not available

Lieutenant Hector M. Nozario-Torres is one of 10,094 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,585 officers honored here.

In 127, 85 of 388 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 21.9% of this state's fallen. That is 9.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

At Puerto Rico Police Department, 77 of 364 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 21.2% of this agency's fallen.

Puerto Rico Police Department
77
of 364 officers
21.2% Accident
127 — Statewide
85
of 388 officers
21.9% Accident
Nationwide
10,094
of 32,585 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Hector M. Nozario-Torres's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,558 (53.9%)
Accident
10,094 (31%)
Illness
3,037 (9.3%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
334 (1%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)

How Hector M. Nozario-Torres Compares

Age at End of Watch
41
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
22
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Hector M. Nozario-Torres is highlighted in Nov.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897