Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Richard Kurth succumbed to injuries sustained the previous day when he was involved in an automobile accident while pursuing a stolen vehicle.
His patrol car went out of control when it struck a patch of dirt road while going around a curve. His vehicle slid into the path of an oncoming tour bus. He was transported to a local hospital where he died the following day.
Officer Kurth had served with the Tolleson Police Department for only 1 month.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AZ-86BE70EA- 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.
Police Officer Kurth served with the Tolleson Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Tolleson community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Kurth.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Richard Walter Kurth 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 AZ, 95 of 330 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.8% of this state's fallen. That is 2.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Tolleson Police Department, 2 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Richard Walter Kurth's cause is highlighted.
How Richard Walter Kurth Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Richard Walter Kurth is highlighted in Nov.
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Tolleson Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
