Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman De La Master was killed in a motorcycle accident while transporting culture tubes from the Paterson Board of Health back to Hasbrouck Heights. The tubes were needed to test school children during an epidemic of scarlet fever. He was attempting to pass a car on McLean Boulevard when he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed. He was able to jump off of the motorcycle but was struck by an oncoming truck.
Survivors
Patrolman De La Master was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-142F6F03- 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.
Patrolman De La Mater served with the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Hasbrouck Heights community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman De La Mater.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Gerald De La Mater 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 NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 8.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Gerald De La Mater's cause is highlighted.
How Gerald De La Mater Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Gerald De La Mater is highlighted in Feb.