Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Paul Rutherford was struck and killed by a vehicle near the intersection of 75th Avenue and Indian School Road at 8:30 am.
He was at the scene of an earlier accident when a call involving an armed subject was dispatched at a location across the street. He was attempting to cross the street to respond to the call when he was struck by a vehicle. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries a short time later.
Officer Rutherford was a U.S. Air Force veteran and had served with the Phoenix Police Department for 23 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AZ-AC66D23D- 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 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.
Police Officer Rutherford gave the Phoenix Police Department 23 years.
Thank you for your service to the Phoenix 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
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Paul Thomas Rutherford served in the Air Force (1987â1996) before joining law enforcement.
Police Officer Paul Thomas Rutherford 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 Phoenix Police Dept., 14 of 47 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Paul Thomas Rutherford's cause is highlighted.
How Paul Thomas Rutherford Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Paul Thomas Rutherford is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
46 officers from Phoenix Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
