Roll of Honor
Donald Keith Sumner
Incident
Investigator Donald Sumner died after contracting COVID-19 during an outbreak among staff and patients at the facility.
Investigator Sumner was a U.S. Air Force veteran and had served with the Patton State Hospital Police Department for 19 years.
Investigator Sumner was a U.S. Air Force veteran and had served with the Patton State Hospital Police Department for 19 years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Investigator Donald Keith Sumner died on July 14, 2020 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 65.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and seven children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-E362D3C5- 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
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Investigator Sumner gave the Patton State Hospital Police Department 19 years.
Thank you for your service to the Patton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Investigator Sumner.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Donald Keith Sumner served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Investigator Donald Keith Sumner is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In CA, 75 of 1,837 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 4.1% of this state's fallen. That is 5 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Donald Keith Sumner's cause is highlighted.
How Donald Keith Sumner Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Donald Keith Sumner is highlighted in Jul.