Davis Joins 27 Others Who Died in Line of Duty

Ronald W. Davis became the 28th San Diego police officer killed in the line of duty Tuesday, and the 11th slain in 11 years. The 10 who died before him:

* Jerry Hartless. Jan. 31, 1988. Fatally wounded by gunfire when he and his partner chased a group of men on a Southeast San Diego street corner in an area plagued by drug trafficking.

* Thomas E. Riggs. March 31, 1985. Shot to death in a wild brawl in Southeast San Diego that also resulted in critical wounds to Officer Donovon Jacobs and less severe wounds to a civilian, Sara Pena-Ruiz, who was riding along in Riggs’ patrol car. The suspect, Sagon Penn, fled in Jacobs’ patrol car but turned himself in an hour after the shooting. Penn was later acquitted of the major charges against him.

* Timothy Ruopp. Sept. 16, 1984. Fatally wounded with a 9-millimeter handgun after making a routine inquiry about juveniles drinking in Balboa Park. Ruopp lived for two days on life-support systems.

* Kimberly Tonahill. Sept. 14, 1984. Tonahill was killed in the same incident as Ruopp. She died within minutes after being shot four times at short range with the small-caliber semi-automatic pistol. She was the first woman San Diego officer to die in the line of duty.

* Kirk Leland Johnson. Feb. 20, 1983. Fatally wounded while on patrol in a city park near Genesee Avenue and California 52 east of La Jolla.

* H. Keith Tiffany and Ronald R. Ebeltoft. June 6, 1981. Killed by gunshots while investigating a report of a disturbance in Linda Vista. Thomas Siota, their assailant, was shot dead by police after he went on a shooting rampage in which he also wounded a neighbor.

* Dennis G. Gonzales. June 25, 1979. Killed making a routine traffic stop on Interstate 8 just east of Fairmount Avenue when he was struck and killed by a pickup truck.

* Michael T. Anaya. April 10, 1979. After answering a call that a woman was being stabbed by her brother, Anaya was shot by Ervin Richardson in an East San Diego apartment house. After a struggle, both Anaya and Richardson were shot. Richardson died instantly, but Anaya was paralyzed for three weeks before he died.

* Archie C. Buggs. Nov. 4, 1978. Shot to death while writing a traffic citation on Skyline Drive in Southeast San Diego. Two teen-agers were arrested and charged in his death.