Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Danny Vanderpool was killed while working undercover in a motorcycle accident. Officer Vanderpool had been loaned to the Edmond Police Department to pose as a high school student, working as an undercover narcotics officer. On the morning of Friday, May 18, 1979, Vanderpool was involved in a traffic accident two miles west of Highway 77, west of Guthrie. He lost control of his motorcycle at a speed near 70 miles per hour and was thrown 125 feet. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a Guthrie hospital. The previous December, thirty-nine people had been arrested for sixty-three separate violations based upon his evidence. Officer Vanderpool had served with the Moore Police Department for two years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and mother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OK-8138440A- 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.
Officer Vanderpool gave the Moore Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Moore community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Vanderpool.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Danny R. Vanderpool 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 OK, 135 of 582 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.2% of this state's fallen. That is 7.8 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Danny R. Vanderpool's cause is highlighted.
How Danny R. Vanderpool Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Danny R. Vanderpool is highlighted in May.