Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer James Ray was killed when his patrol car was struck by a water truck.
He had signaled that he was to make a left turn, but the truck driver misunderstood him and attempted to pass the patrol car. The vehicles collided, and both were sent into a ditch. Officer Ray died instantly. Another officer in the vehicle with Officer Ray suffered a broken back.
Officer Ray was a United States Marine Corps WWI veteran who had served with the Gering Police Department for four years and had previously served with the York Police Department for ten years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NE-00F2F0F6- 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.
Police Officer Ray gave the Gering Police Department 14 years.
Thank you for your service to the Gering 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
James Harvey Ray served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Police Officer James Harvey Ray 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 NE, 36 of 151 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.8% of this state's fallen. That is 7.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Harvey Ray's cause is highlighted.
How James Harvey Ray Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James Harvey Ray is highlighted in Aug.