John D. "Jack" Gates
Officer

John D. "Jack" Gates

Oklahoma City Police Dept. — Oklahoma City, OK
Felonious
End of Watch March 23, 1930
Age 26
Tour of Duty
The Vigil Panel 59 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Jack Gates was shot and killed while attempting to stop a robbery of a grocery store at 1412 North Robinson. The two suspects were captured several days later and sentenced to life in prison. One, age 28 at the time of his arrest, died in prison on October 26, 1949. Officer Gates had only served with the Oklahoma City Police Department for three weeks. His brother, Officer Douglas Gates, was shot and killed in the line of duty on December 3rd, 1933, while also serving with the Oklahoma City Police Department.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-OK-964D930A
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 Gates served with the Oklahoma City Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Oklahoma City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Gates.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Oklahoma City, OK
Platform Identity opd.oklahoma.ok.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch March 23, 1930
Tour of Duty
Age 26
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun; Unknown type
Offender Sentenced to life

Officer John D. "Jack" Gates 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 City Police Dept., 20 of 33 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.6% of this agency's fallen.

Oklahoma City Police Dept.
20
of 33 officers
60.6% Felonious
OK — Statewide
403
of 582 officers
69.2% Felonious
Nationwide
17,623
of 32,508 officers
54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John D. "Jack" Gates's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How John D. "Jack" Gates Compares

Age at End of Watch
26
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
0.1
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.5 years

Offender Outcome

Sentenced to life

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. John D. "Jack" Gates is highlighted in Mar.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,517
May
1,505
Jun
1,443
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,516
Sep
1,553
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. John D. "Jack" Gates was killed by gun; unknown type.

Gun; Unknown type
5,083
Handgun
2,077
Shotgun
922
Officer's handgun
909
Automobile; Alcohol involved
530
Rifle
518

Incident Location