Robert Ray Jones
Agency patch
Captain

Robert Ray Jones

Veteran → Accident
End of Watch September 16, 1983
Age 57
Tour of Duty 34 yrs
The Vigil Panel 127 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Captain Robert Jones was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow officer who was demonstrating weapon handling and self-defense techniques at the Department of Public Safety regional license office in Garland. At 3:05 p.m., the officer was showing new techniques he had learned at retraining school after unloading his weapon. After he reloaded the weapon, he was asked about another maneuver. He drew the loaded .357 Magnum revolver, and as he brought the weapon up, it discharged, striking Captain Jones in the chest and killing him. The shooting was ruled accidental by the agency. Captain Jones was a United States Marine Corps World War II veteran and had served with the Texas Department of Public Safety - Texas Highway Patrol for 34 years. He left the agency in 1951 for three months to play professional baseball with the New York Yankees.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, two sons, and a grandchild.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-D764E633
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. Marine Corps. One record, 2 gates. Robert 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.
Captain Jones gave the Texas Department of Public Safety 34 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Texas, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Type Highway Patrol
Location Austin, TX
Platform Identity tdpsthp.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 16, 1983
Tour of Duty 34 yrs
Age 57
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Robert Ray Jones served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Captain Robert Ray Jones 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 TX, 657 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27.1% of this state's fallen. That is 27.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Texas Department of Public Safety - Texas Highway Patrol, 57 of 95 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 60% of this agency's fallen.

Texas Department of Public Safety - Texas Highway Patrol
57
of 95 officers
60% Accident
TX — Statewide
657
of 2,421 officers
27.1% 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. Robert Ray Jones's cause is highlighted.

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

How Robert Ray Jones Compares

Age at Death
57
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
34
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Robert Ray Jones is highlighted in Sep.

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

Robert Ray Jones served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.

Visit Robert Ray Jones’s page on salute.nw →

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