IMAG2853

On April 9th, 1980, Retired Knoxville Police Sergeant Alvin Olivier was backup for John E. Van Haaften in an undercover drug bust in Knoxville.
Olivier was rushing to the scene when he heard on the radio that Van Haaften had been shot.
“As I got to the residence, I exited my car, and I ran toward the house,” Olivier said. “As I arrived to the door that Officer Van Haaften had entered, I met him at the door, and he more or less stumbled in to my arms–and probably more or less died in my arms as we went to the ground together.”
Marion County Deputy Harold Gates died in November 1967. He arrived at the scene of a domestic case in Pella when an assailant opened fire on officers with a high powered rifle. The late Bob Houser was Pella Police Chief at the time, and he told KNIA/KRLS News that after a shot was fired at a Sheriff’s Department vehicle, Gates was caught out in the open.
We have a special look at Peace Officer’s Memorial Day on In-Depth with Dr. Bob Leonard.