Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper Joseph Nicolle was killed on his 39th birthday when his helicopter clipped a power line and crashed. He was en route to assist sheriff's deputies eradicate a marijuana crop. Trooper Nicolle had served with the agency for eight years and had previously served with the United States Army.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters, parents, two brothers and a sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OK-FDA3B4EC- 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.
Trooper Nicolle gave the Oklahoma Highway Patrol 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Oklahoma, 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
Joseph Earl Nicolle served in the Army (1971â1972) before joining law enforcement.
Trooper Joseph Earl Nicolle 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%.
At Oklahoma Highway Patrol, 17 of 39 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 43.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joseph Earl Nicolle's cause is highlighted.
How Joseph Earl Nicolle Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph Earl Nicolle is highlighted in Jul.
Others Who Wore This Badge
38 officers from Oklahoma Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
