Paul John Gillen
Agency patch
Commander

Paul John Gillen

Los Angeles Police Department — Los Angeles, CA
End of Watch May 29, 1974
Age 49
Tour of Duty 25 yrs
Badge 6435
The Vigil Panel 113 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Commander Paul Gillen was killed in a police helicopter crash during a training exercise. He was the highest ranking member of his agency to be killed in the line of duty.

Commander Gillen was a U.S Navy veteran of WWII and had served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 25 years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-3E6CFBD7
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Navy, salute.nw. One record, 3 gates. Paul is one person.

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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.
Commander Gillen gave the Los Angeles Police Department 25 years.
Thank you for your service to the Los Angeles community. Thank you 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 May 29, 1974
Tour of Duty 25 yrs
Age 49
Badge Number 6435
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Paul John Gillen served in the U.S. Navy (1943–1944) before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Commander Paul John Gillen 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 CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 39.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

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
1
of 97,759 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Paul John Gillen's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Paul John Gillen Compares

Age at Death
49
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
25
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Paul John Gillen is highlighted in May.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location

Military Service

Paul John Gillen served in the U.S. Navy (1943–1944) before joining law enforcement.

Visit Paul John Gillen’s page on salute.nw →

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