Peter Gladys
Agency patch
Trooper

Peter Gladys

New Jersey State Police — West Trenton, NJ
Felonious
End of Watch December 28, 1928
Age 22
Tour of Duty 6 mo
Badge 378
The Vigil Panel 56 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Trooper Gladys was killed after having his throat cut several times by a man he was transporting to a local Justice of the Peace in Hightstown. The suspect, who had a history of domestic abuse and had just been involved in a domestic assault on his girlfriend, used a razor to slash his throat three times. He then stole the Trooper Gladys' revolver and fired a single shot into him before fleeing the area. The suspect was located two days later with the Trooper Gladys' pistol and a blood-soaked shirt that he tried to burn. He was arrested, tried, found guilty, sentenced to death via electric chair and was ultimately executed. Trooper Gladys had served with the agency for only six months.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-FB4E2D9D
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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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Trooper Gladys served with the New Jersey State Police.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Gladys.

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

Agency

Type State Police
Location West Trenton, NJ
Platform Identity njsp.nj.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 28, 1928
Tour of Duty 6 mo
Age 22
Badge Number 378
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Edged weapon

Trooper Peter Gladys is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In NJ, 229 of 646 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 35.4% of this state's fallen. That is 35.4 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At New Jersey State Police, 14 of 84 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 16.7% of this agency's fallen.

New Jersey State Police
14
of 84 officers
16.7% Felonious
NJ — Statewide
229
of 646 officers
35.4% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Peter Gladys's cause is highlighted.

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

How Peter Gladys Compares

Age at Death
22
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
0.5
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Peter Gladys is highlighted in Dec.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Peter Gladys was killed by edged weapon.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909