Roll of Honor
Incident
Inspector Kirk Brookbush and Police Officer James Dougherty were killed when their helicopter crashed near Crows Landing, Stanislaus County.
The officers were flying a Bell Jet Ranger OH-58 helicopter on a routine flight from a maintenance facility in Tulare County to San Francisco. They requested a flight level below 1,000 feet because of foggy conditions. After the request was made, at approximately 9:00 pm, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens. After an all-night search, the wreckage was discovered at 8:30 am the next morning in a field near I-5.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-5A2D655C- 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.
Inspector Brookbush gave the San Francisco Police Department 28 years.
Thank you for your service to the San Francisco community, and 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
Kirk B. Brookbush served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Inspector Kirk B. Brookbush 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 San Francisco Police Department, 35 of 106 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Kirk B. Brookbush's cause is highlighted.
How Kirk B. Brookbush Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Kirk B. Brookbush is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
105 officers from San Francisco Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
