Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Lawrence Bass and Undersheriff William Stretcher, of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, were killed in an automobile crash while responding to a fire. The Buick they were driving was only two days old and was the department's first police car. As they entered the intersection of 19th and Pearl Streets they collided with the city's first fire truck. Chief Bass and a civilian occupant of the police car were killed in the crash. Undersheriff Stretcher, also an occupant of the vehicle, succumbed to his injuries four days later. Chief Bass was the first Boulder police chief and was the department's first officer to be killed in the line of duty. He had served with the Boulder Police Department for 21 years.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CO-687037A8- Stewardship
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- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
21 years. You could have gone home.
Chief of Police Bass gave the Boulder Police Department 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Boulder community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Bass.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Lawrence P. Bass is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In CO, 101 of 360 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.1% of this state's fallen. That is 28.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Boulder Police Department, 2 of 7 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Lawrence P. Bass's cause is highlighted.
How Lawrence P. Bass Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Lawrence P. Bass is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
6 officers from Boulder Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
