Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper Ernst succumbed to injuries sustained the previous day when he was involved in a motorcycle accident while on patrol. He was told to go home and return to office work the following day. While seated at his desk he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died.
He had served with the agency for 13 months.
Rest in peace always knowing that your service will never, ever be forgotten as no passage of time will ever erase your sacrifice.
Detective Cpl/3 Steven Rizzo Delaware State Police (Retired) August 4th, 2020
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-FE1571DF- 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
You barely got started.
Trooper Ernst gave the New Jersey State Police 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Ernst.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Trooper David Z. Ernst 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%.
At New Jersey State Police, 53 of 84 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 63.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. David Z. Ernst's cause is highlighted.
How David Z. Ernst Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. David Z. Ernst is highlighted in Aug.
Others Who Wore This Badge
83 officers from New Jersey State Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
