Paul Andrew Trent

Tacoma Police Department — Tacoma, WA

Veteran → Accident

End of Watch November 23, 1941

Age 43

Tour of Duty 8 yrs

The Vigil Panel 78 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Military Department 11

Incident

Officer Paul Trent and Officer Martin Joyce were killed when their patrol car collided with a Pierce County Sheriff's Department patrol car occupied by Deputy Sheriff Arthur Varco and Deputy Sheriff Lawrence Bunce. The crash occurred at the intersection of 11th Avenue and Pacific Avenue. The deputies were responding to an accident while the officers were responding to an unrelated attempted suicide. Officer Joyce succumbed to his injuries two days later. The other three officers were killed instantly. Officer Trent was a U.S. Army veteran of WWI and had served with the Tacoma Police Department for eight years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and son.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-WA-7913A06E
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: August 2, 2026
Last updated: August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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

Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Army. One record, 2 gates. Paul is one person.

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 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.
Officer Trent gave the Tacoma Police Department 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Tacoma 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

Department Tacoma Police Department

Type Police Department

Location Tacoma, Pierce County, WA

Platform Identity tpd.pierce.wa.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 23, 1941

Tour of Duty 8 yrs

Age 43

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Paul Andrew Trent served in the U.S. Army before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Officer Paul Andrew Trent is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.

In WA, 111 of 340 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.6% of this state's fallen. That is 32.6 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Tacoma Police Department, 5 of 12 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 41.7% of this agency's fallen.

Tacoma Police Department

of 12 officers

41.7% Accident

WA — Statewide

111

of 340 officers

32.6% Accident

Nationwide

of 97,759 officers

0% Accident