Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Ross Bartlett was killed when his patrol car was struck by another vehicle as he conducted a traffic stop on southbound Highway 77 near Little Salt Road at about 7:35 pm.
He was sitting in his patrol car during the stop when a pickup truck struck his vehicle in the rear, pushing it into the car he had stopped. Bystanders attempted life-saving measures on Officer Bartlett before he was flown to Bryan Health West Campus, where he succumbed to his injuries. The driver of the car he had stopped suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the collision.
The driver was charged with felony motor vehicle homicide for driving distracted.
Officer Bartlett had served with the Ceresco Police Department for seven years and also concurrently served as an investigator with the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services for seven years. He had served a total of 30 years in law enforcement, previously serving with the Valentine Police Department, Boone County Sheriff's Office, Madison Police Department, Madison County Sheriff's Office, and Newman Grove Police Department. He also served as a volunteer firefighter with the Ceresco Fire Department.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and seven grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NE-CBCC0708- 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
30 years. You could have gone home.
Police Officer Bartlett gave the Ceresco Police Department 30 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Ceresco community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Bartlett.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Ross Bartlett 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. Ross Bartlett's cause is highlighted.
How Ross Bartlett Compares
Offender Outcome
Charged
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Ross Bartlett is highlighted in Apr.