Eugene N. Luther
Agency patch
Deputy Sheriff

Eugene N. Luther

Felonious
End of Watch April 25, 1980
Age 50
Tour of Duty 22 yrs
The Vigil Panel 122 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Eugene Luther was shot and killed while off-duty when a suspect attempted to rob him. He had just left a restaurant and was approaching his car when the suspect demanded money. As Deputy Luther reached for his off-duty weapon and identified himself he was shot and killed. He was able to return fire and possibly wounded the suspect, who was never identified. Deputy Luther had served with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department for 22 years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-076BAEBB
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

22 years. You could have gone home.
Deputy Sheriff Luther gave the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office 22 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Sacramento community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Luther.

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

Agency

Location Sacramento, CA
Platform Identity scso.sacramento.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 25, 1980
Tour of Duty 22 yrs
Age 50
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun; Unknown type
Offender Case never solved

Deputy Sheriff Eugene N. Luther is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In CA, 974 of 1,837 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53% of this state's fallen. That is 1.2 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.

At Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, 15 of 22 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 68.2% of this agency's fallen.

Sacramento County Sheriff's Office
15
of 22 officers
68.2% Felonious
CA — Statewide
974
of 1,837 officers
53% Felonious
Nationwide
17,623
of 32,508 officers
54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Eugene N. Luther'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 Eugene N. Luther Compares

Age at End of Watch
50
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
22
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.5 years

Offender Outcome

Case never solved

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Eugene N. Luther is highlighted in Apr.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,517
May
1,505
Jun
1,443
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,516
Sep
1,553
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Eugene N. Luther was killed by gun; unknown type.

Gun; Unknown type
5,083
Handgun
2,077
Shotgun
922
Officer's handgun
909
Automobile; Alcohol involved
530
Rifle
518