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Policeman

Julio Ramon Rodriguez-Rivera

Puerto Rico Police Department — San Juan, 127
Felonious
United States flag
End of Watch August 24, 1978
Age 33
The Vigil Panel 120 ›
Gender Male
Incident Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 363

Incident

Policeman Julio Rodriguez-Rivera was slain when he stopped to assist a disabled motorist. At approximately 11:00pm, Officer Rodriguez-Rivera and his partner were patrolling highway PR-3 near Tropical Beach in Naguabo when the noticed a stalled vehicle with a motorist having mechanical problems. As the officers assisted them several armed men came out of the woods and ambushed the officers. Officer Rodriguez-Rivera pulled his weapon to repel the attack and was shot and killed. His partner was handcuffed into a tree and his uniform and badge was stolen. The attackers were deterred away by a pair of undercover officers that discovered the officers patrol car on the side of the road. The motorist was a decoy for a radical group, the Boricua Popular Army, whose intent was to liberate Puerto Rico from the United States using violence and oppression. On September 23rd, 2005, FBI agents led a raid at a home in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, where they surrounded the house of the group's former leader. The subject was subsequently killed in a shootout with FBI agents.

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August 2, 2026
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August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Policeman Rodriguez-Rivera served with the Puerto Rico Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the San Juan community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Policeman Rodriguez-Rivera.

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

Agency

Department Puerto Rico Police Department
Type Police Department
Location San Juan, 127
Platform Identity prpd.pr.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 24, 1978
Age 33
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

Julio is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

33,917 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

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Compare against
I

Time

In 1978, 121 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 43rd heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Julio was 33. Of the 14,220 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

August holds 8.9% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Thursdays: 14%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was gun, in 22.8% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Puerto Rico Police Department has at least 120 officers remembered here, Julio among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Policeman Julio Ramon Rodriguez-Rivera

Puerto Rico Police Department · End of Watch August 24, 1978

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 37-E

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