Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Robert Rigoni, Deputy Sheriff Bruce Mettler of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, and Dispatcher Michael Sweeney of the Put-in-Bay Police Department were killed when the plane they were riding in crashed into Lake Erie. The officers were traveling to assist a police chief on a neighboring island who was suffering a heart attack. All four occupants of the plane were killed in the accident. Sergeant Rigoni was a United States Navy veteran and had served with the Port Clinton Police Department for nine years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two sons.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-5DD0506E- 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.
Sergeant Rigoni gave the Port Clinton Police Department 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Port Clinton 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
Robert B. Rigoni served in the Navy (1966â1970) before joining law enforcement.
Sergeant Robert B. Rigoni 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 OH, 318 of 991 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.1% of this state's fallen. That is 1.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert B. Rigoni's cause is highlighted.
How Robert B. Rigoni Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Robert B. Rigoni is highlighted in Dec.