Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper Werner Foerster was shot and killed with his own service weapon after backing up another trooper who had stopped a vehicle containing two men and a woman on the New Jersey Turnpike. The subjects started struggling with the troopers and disarmed Trooper Foerster. One of the men opened fire, killing Trooper Foerster and wounding the other trooper. Despite his wounds, the other trooper returned fire and killed one of the subjects. The three subjects were members of the Black Liberation Army. The two surviving subjects were convicted of Trooper Foerster's murder, but the female suspect escaped from prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba, where she remained at large until dying in 2025. The man who shot Trooper Werner was sentenced to life in prison. He was denied parole in 2011, but in September 2014, the New Jersey Superior Court overturned the ruling and ordered that the subject be paroled. An accomplice who helped the female subject escape was placed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list in 1982. He was arrested in 1986 for his involvement in the 1981 murders of two Nyack, New York, police officers. Trooper Foerster was a United States Army Vietnam veteran and had served with the New Jersey State Police Department for almost three years. Survivors include his wife and two children. He is buried in Washington Monumental Cemetery, South River, New Jersey. The Route 18 overpass on the New Jersey Turnpike has been dedicated as the Werner Foerster Overpass in his honor. The Black Liberation Army was a violent, radical group that attempted to fight for independence from the United States government in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The BLA was responsible for the murders of more than 10 police officers and the wounding of many more law enforcement officers. Please click here to visit all the law enforcement officers who have died as a result of the Black Liberation Army's violent activism.
Survivors
Survivors include his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-99DA06B2- 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.
Trooper Foerster gave the New Jersey State Police 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey, 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
Werner Foerster served in the Army (1963â1965) before joining law enforcement.
Trooper Werner Foerster is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NJ, 264 of 646 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 40.9% of this state's fallen. That is 13.3 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.
At New Jersey State Police, 14 of 84 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 16.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Werner Foerster's cause is highlighted.
How Werner Foerster Compares
Offender Outcome
Died while still a fugitive
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Werner Foerster is highlighted in May.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Werner Foerster was killed by officer's handgun.
Others Who Wore This Badge
83 officers from New Jersey State Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
