Roll of Honor
Incident
Investigator Joey Little succumbed to injuries sustained in a traffic collision at Birch Street and Kraemer Boulevard in Placentia on October 30, 1989. Investigator Little had been assigned to assist another officer who had been wounded while on duty two months earlier. At 5:30 a.m., he was driving the wounded officer to the station in his private vehicle during the work detail, and as he entered an intersection, another vehicle ran a red light and collided with his vehicle at approximately 55 mph. The other driver and the second officer both walked away from the accident with minor injuries. Investigator Little was in a deep coma for two months with various broken bones, crushed ribs and head injuries. He spent the next seven years in various hospitals and rehab facilities, but was considered slow to recover. Investigator Little had served with the Placentia Police Department for 12 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-57E23F1D- 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.
Investigator Little gave the Placentia Police Department 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the Placentia community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Investigator Little.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Investigator Joey Dean Little 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%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joey Dean Little's cause is highlighted.
How Joey Dean Little Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joey Dean Little is highlighted in Aug.