Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Ralph Reeves died as the result of a heart attack suffered while struggling with a student at Compton High School.
Officer Reeves was dispatched to respond to the school to investigate reports of an intoxicated student. The student began to struggle with Officer Reeves and a group of other students began to surround the two and tried to take the subject from Officer Reeves' custody. As other officers arrived Officer Reeves collapsed. The other officers were able to pull Officer Reeves to safety and called an ambulance.
He was transported to a local hospital where it was learned that he had suffered a heart attack. His condition never improved and he died as a result on March 26th, 1968.
Officer Reeves was survived by his wife, four children, and three grandchildren.
Survivors
Officer Reeves was survived by his wife, four children, and three grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-20FE358E- 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 Reeves served with the Compton Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Compton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Reeves.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Ralph Kay Reeves is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In CA, 52 of 1,837 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 2.8% of this state's fallen. That is 1.2 percentage points below the national rate of 4%.
At Compton Police Department, 1 of 4 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 25% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ralph Kay Reeves's cause is highlighted.
How Ralph Kay Reeves Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Ralph Kay Reeves is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
3 officers from Compton Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
