Roll of Honor
Oliver Columbus Grems
Incident
Special Agent Oliver Grems was shot and killed in Oakland, California, by two Oakland police officers in a case of mistaken identity.
He was sitting in his vehicle on Southern Pacific Railroad property on Bay Street Circle, near 7th Street, when the two plainclothes officers saw him and approached him to investigate why he was there. Not knowing the two were officers, and believing he was about to be robbed, Special Agent Grems drew his revolver. Not realizing he was an officer too, the two Oakland officers opened fire on him.
Agent Grems was fatally wounded in the exchange of gunfire.
Special Agent Grems was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of WWII and had previously served with the Denver, Colorado, Police Department for six years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two children, and two stepchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-4EF93AE2- 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.
Special Agent Grems gave the Southern Pacific Railroad Police Department 6 years.
Thank you for your service to the San Francisco community. 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
Oliver Columbus Grems served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Special Agent Oliver Columbus Grems 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 CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Southern Pacific Railroad Police Department, 8 of 23 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 34.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Oliver Columbus Grems's cause is highlighted.
How Oliver Columbus Grems Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Oliver Columbus Grems is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
22 officers from Southern Pacific Railroad Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
