Roll of Honor
Joe Allen Gamble
Incident
Sergeant Joe Gamble was killed after being stabbed by an inmate at the Oklahoma State Reformatory, a low maximum-security prison, in Granite.
As officers began locking down the prison for a head count, the suspect began to attack another officer in a common area of the prison, stabbing him 16 times in the back of the head and back. When Sergeant Gamble went to assist the other officer, the inmate stabbed him in the throat with one of two homemade knives he had. The suspect was taken under control after a brief standoff with the prison's emergency response team.
Both officers were transported to a local hospital where Sergeant Gamble died the next morning.
The suspect, 24, who was serving a 10-year sentence for drug possession and tax fraud, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole on October 26, 2001.
Sergeant Gamble was a United States Air Force veteran and had served with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for three years.
The medium-security prison in Holdenville was renamed the Allen Gamble Correctional Center.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and four boys.
In Our Keeping
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BO-US-OK-832FBBAA- 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 Gamble gave the Oklahoma Department of Corrections 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Oklahoma. Thank you 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
Joe Allen Gamble served in the Air Force (1994â1996) before joining law enforcement.
Sergeant Joe Allen Gamble 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 OK, 403 of 582 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 69.2% of this state's fallen. That is 15 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
At Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 14 of 19 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 73.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joe Allen Gamble's cause is highlighted.
How Joe Allen Gamble Compares
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Joe Allen Gamble is highlighted in Jun.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
18 officers from Oklahoma Department of Corrections are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
