Defford Thomas "D.J." Oyebi, Jr.
Agency patch
Officer

Defford Thomas "D.J." Oyebi, Jr.

Accident
End of Watch December 20, 1998
Age 23
Tour of Duty 2 yrs
The Vigil Panel 145 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer D.J. Oyebi was killed in a two-vehicle crash while he was responding to another accident. His patrol car went out of control on the rain-slicked U.S. 177, 2.3 miles north of State Highway 15 West, in Noble County. The patrol car crossed the center line and was struck in the passenger side by a northbound vehicle. Officer Oyebi was pronounced dead at the scene, along with a passenger in the other car. The driver of the other car was admitted to the hospital in serious condition. Officer Oyebi had served with the Otoe-Missouria Tribal Police for two years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, two daughters, son, mother, and sister.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-OTM-TR-9883F66A
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 Oyebi gave the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma Police 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Red Rock community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Oyebi.

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

Agency

Location Red Rock, OK
Platform Identity otopd.nn.tribal.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 20, 1998
Tour of Duty 2 yrs
Age 23
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Officer Defford Thomas "D.J." Oyebi, Jr. 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%.

Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma Police
1
of 1 officers
100% Accident
OK — Statewide
135
of 582 officers
23.2% 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. Defford Thomas "D.J." Oyebi, Jr.'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 Defford Thomas "D.J." Oyebi, Jr. Compares

Age at End of Watch
23
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
2
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Defford Thomas "D.J." Oyebi, Jr. is highlighted in Dec.

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