James Francis Dougherty
Agency patch
Police Officer

James Francis Dougherty

San Francisco Police Department — San Francisco, CA
Accident
End of Watch January 11, 2000
Age 56
Tour of Duty 29 yrs
The Vigil Panel 146 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer James Dougherty and Inspector Kirk Brookbush were killed when their helicopter crashed near Crows Landing, Stanislaus County.

Officer Dougherty was an experienced aircraft mechanic before joining the San Francisco Police Department. He had served with the San Francisco Police Department for 29 years.

Survivors

He is survived by his three children.

In Our Keeping

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Stewardship
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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

29 years. You could have gone home.
Police Officer Dougherty gave the San Francisco Police Department 29 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the San Francisco community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Dougherty.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location San Francisco, CA
Platform Identity sfpd.sf.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 11, 2000
Tour of Duty 29 yrs
Age 56
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

The Sacrifice · Accident

James is one of 8,275 officers lost to accidents in the United States, 30% of the 27,551 remembered there.

33,917 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 2000, 85 officers in the United States were lost to accidents, the 19th heaviest of 174 years on record. The heaviest was 1929, with 118.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

James was 56. Of the 7,718 lost to accidents in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 29 and 46; the middle age was 36. James had served 29 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

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

When

January holds 7.7% of these deaths in the United States; August holds the most, 9.5%. Tuesdays: 14.1%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Accident deaths account for 30% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the 2nd most common cause.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

San Francisco Police Department has 106 officers remembered here, James among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Police Officer James Francis Dougherty

San Francisco Police Department · End of Watch January 11, 2000

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 22-W

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