Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Richard Slates died in a fall during a search and rescue mission at the Death Valley National Monument. Deputy Slates was assisting in the recovery of the body of a 19-year-old male on the side of Telescope Peak. The hiker plunged 1,000 feet to his death while descending the peak. The deputy came up missing and his body was found in in nearly the same position on the side of the peak.
Survivors
Deputy Slates was survived by his wife, two sons, and two daughters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-4A3D7127- 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.
Deputy Sheriff Slates served with the Kern County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Bakersfield community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Slates.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Richard O. Slates 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 CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Kern County Sheriff's Office, 18 of 28 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 64.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Richard O. Slates's cause is highlighted.
How Richard O. Slates Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Richard O. Slates is highlighted in Dec.
Others Who Wore This Badge
27 officers from Kern County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
