Maurice W. "Buck" Owen
Agency patch
Officer

Maurice W. "Buck" Owen

California Highway Patrol — Sacramento, CA
Accident
End of Watch September 22, 1940
Age 42
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
The Vigil Panel 77 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Buck Owen succumbed to injuries sustained in two separate incidents while on duty. In the first incident, his police motorcycle collided with a vehicle that turned in front of him. He was thrown 20 feet over the hood of the car and suffered internal injuries. Despite being injured, he wrote the driver a reckless driving ticket and continued his shift. One month later, he was injured in another motorcycle accident while on duty. He again returned to work but started suffering serious internal pain several weeks later and was checked into a hospital. He died from a blood clot a short time later. Officer Owen had served with the California Highway Patrol for 11 years. He was survived by his wife, two children, and a sister. His father had also served in law enforcement.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, two children, and a sister.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-2EDCB615
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.

Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Maurice. Claim this record.

This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.

Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer Owen gave the California Highway Patrol 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Owen.

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

Agency

Location Sacramento, CA
Platform Identity chp.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 22, 1940
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
Age 42
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Officer Maurice W. "Buck" Owen 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 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 California Highway Patrol, 151 of 233 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 64.8% of this agency's fallen.

California Highway Patrol
151
of 233 officers
64.8% Accident
CA — Statewide
719
of 1,837 officers
39.1% 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. Maurice W. "Buck" Owen'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 Maurice W. "Buck" Owen Compares

Age at End of Watch
42
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
11
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Maurice W. "Buck" Owen is highlighted in Sep.

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