Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief Gautier was shot and killed while executing an arrest warrant with another officer. Chief Gautier and Constable D. W. Snuffer went to arrest a man with a warrant for malicious wounding. While arresting him, the suspect got both the officers weapons and shot and killed Officer Gautier.
Survivors
Chief Gautier was survived by his wife, son, five daughters, and his parents.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-WV-B75E5AA1- 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
25 years. You could have gone home.
Chief of Police Gautier gave the Lester Police Department 25 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Lester community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Gautier.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Joseph Russell Gautier is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In WV, 169 of 232 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 72.8% of this state's fallen. That is 18.6 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joseph Russell Gautier's cause is highlighted.
How Joseph Russell Gautier Compares
Offender Outcome
Acquitted
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph Russell Gautier is highlighted in May.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Joseph Russell Gautier was killed by officer's handgun.