Brent L. Hanger
Agency patch
Detective

Brent L. Hanger

Washington State Patrol — Olympia, WA
Cardiac
End of Watch August 6, 2015
Age 47
Tour of Duty 17 yrs
The Vigil Panel 164 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Detective Brent Hanger suffered a fatal heart attack while hiking into a remote area of Chinook Pass, near Yakima, to investigate reports of a marijuana growing operation.

He began to suffer chest pains and shortness of breath. Other detectives who were with him immediately called for assistance and started CPR after he collapsed, but were unable to revive him.

Detective Hanger had served with the Washington State Patrol for 17 years.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and six children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-WA-347F5906
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.
Detective Hanger gave the Washington State Patrol 17 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Washington. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Hanger.

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

Agency

Location Olympia, WA
Platform Identity whp.wa.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 6, 2015
Tour of Duty 17 yrs
Age 47
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac

Detective Brent L. Hanger is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In WA, 18 of 339 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5.3% of this state's fallen. That is 1.3 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.

At Washington State Patrol, 1 of 34 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 2.9% of this agency's fallen.

Washington State Patrol
1
of 34 officers
2.9% Cardiac
WA — Statewide
18
of 339 officers
5.3% Cardiac
Nationwide
1,306
of 32,508 officers
4% Cardiac

National Cause Distribution

How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Brent L. Hanger'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 Brent L. Hanger Compares

Age at End of Watch
47
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
17
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Brent L. Hanger is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
124
Feb
105
Mar
99
Apr
116
May
115
Jun
95
Jul
94
Aug
104
Sep
109
Oct
121
Nov
113
Dec
111

Incident Location