Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Gary Downs suffered a heart attack following a struggle in which he was punched in the chest. The incident occurred after several deputies responded to a report of a man attempting to gain entry into a house after he had been thrown out by the owner. A violent struggle ensued between the suspect and the deputies in which Deputy Downs was punched in the chest. He collapsed at the scene and died a short time later at the hospital.
Survivors
Deputy Downs was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NV-B45DB55D- 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.
Deputy Sheriff Downs served with the Nye County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Tonopah community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Downs.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Gary Raymond Downs 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 NV, 9 of 145 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 6.2% of this state's fallen. That is 2.2 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Nye County Sheriff's Dept., 1 of 7 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 14.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Gary Raymond Downs's cause is highlighted.
How Gary Raymond Downs Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Gary Raymond Downs is highlighted in Aug.
Others Who Wore This Badge
6 officers from Nye County Sheriff's Dept. are honored on badge.nw.
