In the small town of Mammoth, Arizona, a dedicated police officer's life was tragically cut short on June 10, 1988. Corporal James A. Ross, a 41-year-old White / Caucasian male, was responding to a domestic disturbance call, a situation law enforcement officers face regularly. On this particular day, the town's lack of a local jail meant a suspect in the disturbance was allowed to remain at his home until a judge could intervene.
As Corporal Ross, a 19-year veteran of the Mammoth Police
Department and a U.S. Army and Marine Corps veteran, concluded his response and turned to leave the residence, the situation took a fatal turn. The suspect retrieved a hidden firearm and shot the unsuspecting officer three times in the back. After Corporal Ross fell to the floor, the assailant fired another shot into his chest. In a strange turn of events, the suspect himself then contacted the dispatcher to report the shooting he had just committed.
The assailant was subsequently arrested and faced justice for his actions. He was convicted of second-degree murder and received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. In a brazen act while out on appeal in the year following Corporal Ross's death, the same individual attempted to shoot his stepson. This additional crime led to another conviction and a six-year extension to his original sentence. The loss of Corporal Ross, who was survived by his wife, son, and two daughters, marked a dark day for the community as he became the first police officer in Mammoth to be killed in the line of duty. Tragically, it was noted that on that fateful day, for the only time in his career, he was not wearing his bulletproof vest.
