Joe Rios
Agency patch
Police Officer

Joe Rios

Los Angeles Police Department — Los Angeles, CA
Accident Veteran →
End of Watch January 20, 1993
Age 39
Tour of Duty 10 yrs
Badge 24216
The Vigil Panel 138 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Joe Rios succumbed to injuries sustained eight months earlier while on bicycle patrol on Sunset Boulevard. The accident occurred on May 27, 1992, when an automobile exited a parking lot into his path. Officer Rios was able to return to duty six months later, but suffered a cerebral concussion which contributed to his death on January 20, 1993. Officer Rios was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 10 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and two children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-6EB3ED1C
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

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 Rios gave the Los Angeles Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Los Angeles community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA
Platform Identity lapd.losangeles.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 20, 1993
Tour of Duty 10 yrs
Age 39
Badge Number 24216
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Joe Rios served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Police Officer Joe Rios is one of 10,094 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,586 officers honored here.

In CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Los Angeles Police Department, 97 of 240 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 40.4% of this agency's fallen.

Los Angeles Police Department
97
of 240 officers
40.4% Accident
CA — Statewide
719
of 1,837 officers
39.1% Accident
Nationwide
10,094
of 32,586 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joe Rios's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,559 (53.9%)
Accident
10,094 (31%)
Illness
3,037 (9.3%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
334 (1%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)

How Joe Rios Compares

Age at End of Watch
39
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
10
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joe Rios is highlighted in Jan.

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

Incident Location

Military Service

Joe Rios served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.

Visit Joe Rios’s page on salute.nw →

His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.