Roll of Honor
Incident
Motorcycle Officer Gus Gaines succumbed to injuries sustained when his motorcycle collided with a bicycle at Park Street and Wall Street in Beaumont.
On March 14th, around midnight, Officer Gaines was pursuing a stolen automobile on Park Street with extinguished headlights at a high rate of speed. As he approached Wall Street, the lights of an approaching car blinded him momentarily, and he turned his motorcycle towards the sidewalk. He ran into a boy on a bicycle and the boy's friend walking next to him. Officer Gaines was thrown from his motorcycle and struck the pavement with his head and shoulders.
Officer Gaines was transported to Hotel Dieu, where he succumbed to his injuries at 6:45 pm the next day.
The youths were not seriously injured.
Officer Gaines had served with the Beaumont Police Department for three months.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, mother, two sisters, brother, two half-sisters, and a half-brother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-185ED691- 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.
Motorcycle Officer Gaines served with the Beaumont Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Beaumont community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Motorcycle Officer Gaines.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Motorcycle Officer James A. "Gus" Gaines 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 TX, 653 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27% of this state's fallen. That is 4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Beaumont Police Department, 11 of 21 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 52.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James A. "Gus" Gaines's cause is highlighted.
How James A. "Gus" Gaines Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James A. "Gus" Gaines is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
20 officers from Beaumont Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
