Robert E. Drake
Agency patch
Officer

Robert E. Drake

Portland Police Bureau — Portland, OR
Accident
End of Watch October 11, 1930
Age 54
Tour of Duty 18 yrs
The Vigil Panel 60 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Robert Drake succumbed to injuries sustained in a fall while on duty. Officer Drake was found on a pile of lumber at the base of a fifteen-foot drop into an elevator shaft at 34 North Broadway. He had gone on duty on the evening of October 10th, 1930, assigned to a different partner for the early morning. It appeared that he fell into the shaft around midnight, but wasn’t found until building employees discovered him the next morning. He was unconscious and died shortly afterward. Officer Drake had served with the Portland Police Bureau for 18 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and daughter.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-OR-12A866E0
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 Drake gave the Portland Police Bureau 18 years.
Thank you for your service to the Portland community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Drake.

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

Agency

Location Portland, OR
Platform Identity ppb.multnomah.or.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 11, 1930
Tour of Duty 18 yrs
Age 54
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Officer Robert E. Drake 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 OR, 66 of 197 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.5% of this state's fallen. That is 2.5 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Portland Police Bureau, 16 of 31 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 51.6% of this agency's fallen.

Portland Police Bureau
16
of 31 officers
51.6% Accident
OR — Statewide
66
of 197 officers
33.5% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert E. Drake'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 Robert E. Drake Compares

Age at End of Watch
54
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
18
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Robert E. Drake is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location