Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief David Lake suffered a fatal heart attack while in a foot pursuit of an escaped prisoner. The suspect was later apprehended and sentenced to 4 months in jail. Chief Lake had served with the Ocean Grove Police Department for 16 years and had previously served with the United States Marine Corps in World War II.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-857080A0- 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.
Chief of Police Lake gave the Ocean Grove Police Department 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Ocean Grove 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
David John Lake served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Chief of Police David John Lake is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NJ, 38 of 646 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5.9% of this state's fallen. That is 1.9 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. David John Lake's cause is highlighted.
How David John Lake Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. David John Lake is highlighted in Aug.