Roll of Honor
Incident
Detective Garth Ward succumbed to injuries sustained in a vehicle crash on June 27th, 1964.
He and his partner were transporting a prisoner to jail when their patrol car was struck by a car that ran a red light at the intersection of Figueroa Street and Jefferson Boulevard.
Detective Ward suffered several head injuries as a result of the crash and remained in a coma until passing away on July 30th, 1974.
Detective Ward was a United States Navy WWII veteran and served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 11 years before the vehicle crash.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, daughter, two grandchildren, and nine siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-50712681- 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.
Detective Ward gave the Los Angeles Police Department 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the Los Angeles 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
Garth Langemeade Ward served in the Navy (1942â1945) before joining law enforcement.
Detective Garth Langemeade Ward 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 Los Angeles Police Department, 97 of 240 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 40.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Garth Langemeade Ward's cause is highlighted.
How Garth Langemeade Ward Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Garth Langemeade Ward is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
239 officers from Los Angeles Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
