Don Joseph Burt
Agency patch
Officer

Don Joseph Burt

California Highway Patrol — Sacramento, CA
Felonious
End of Watch July 13, 1996
Age 25
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 3 mo
Badge 13892
The Vigil Panel 142 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Don Burt was shot and killed while making a traffic stop on Nutwood Avenue in Fullerton at 8:30 p.m. Officer Burt was impounding the vehicle after discovering that the driver was driving on a suspended license. As he was searching the trunk, he found forged payroll checks and counterfeit traveler's checks. When he went to question the suspect, the man produced a 9 mm handgun and shot him six times. While lying on the ground, the suspect stole his weapon and keys and then shot him execution-style in the head. The suspect stole his patrol car and fled the scene. He was eventually located and apprehended in Houston, Texas. The suspect pleaded guilty to federal murder-for-hire charges after an attempt to have witnesses and the deputy district attorney in the case murdered. As a result of that plea agreement, he also pleaded guilty to the murder of Officer Burt and, on June 23, 2000, was sentenced to death. Officer Burt had served with the California Highway Patrol for just over 1 year. Officer Burt's wife gave birth to their son on September 22, 1996, two months after his murder. His father also served with the California Highway Patrol, and his father-in-law and brother-in-law were law enforcement officers in California.

In Our Keeping

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Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

You barely got started.
Officer Burt gave the California Highway Patrol 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Burt.

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

Agency

Type Highway Patrol
Location Sacramento, CA
Platform Identity chp.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 13, 1996
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 3 mo
Age 25
Badge Number 13892
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Handgun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

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

34,117 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
  2. See the roll
Compare against
I

Time

In 1996, 79 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 86th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Don was 25. 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. Don had served 1.2 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

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

When

July holds 9.3% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Saturdays: 16.3%.

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 handgun, in 23.4% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

California Highway Patrol has at least 120 officers remembered here, Don among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Officer Don Joseph Burt

California Highway Patrol · End of Watch July 13, 1996

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 18-E

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