Ray Delton Bockman
Agency patch
Deputy Sheriff

Ray Delton Bockman

Kern County Sheriff's Office — Bakersfield, CA
Accident
End of Watch August 16, 1986
Age 50
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
The Vigil Panel 131 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Ray Bockman, Sergeant Marvin Kline, and Pilot Douglas Moonen were killed in an aircraft accident while on a training mission at 9:45 am. They were practicing looking for drowning victims on the Kern River when the Cessna 206 hit a high-tension power line and tree before it crashed in Hart Memorial Park, six miles north of Bakersfield. Deputy Bockman had served with the Kern County Sheriff's Department for 11 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, daughter, and two sons.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-6C61AA37
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.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Bockman gave the Kern County Sheriff's Office 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the Bakersfield community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Bockman.

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

Agency

Location Bakersfield, CA
Platform Identity kcso.kern.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 16, 1986
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
Age 50
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Deputy Sheriff Ray Delton Bockman 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 Kern County Sheriff's Office, 18 of 28 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 64.3% of this agency's fallen.

Kern County Sheriff's Office
18
of 28 officers
64.3% 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. Ray Delton Bockman'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 Ray Delton Bockman Compares

Age at End of Watch
50
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. Ray Delton Bockman is highlighted in Aug.

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

Incident Location