End of Watch: January 13, 1986

Deputy Kelly Bazer was off-duty when she was shot and killed by fleeing armed robbers on January 13, 1986. At the time of the incident, Deputy Bazer was on her way home from work, having just completed her sixth day of the Sheriff’s Academy. She was unarmed, wearing her Sheriff’s Academy uniform.

Deputy Bazer parked her car on the street outside her residence when two men approached her and demanded her car keys. Unbeknownst to Deputy Bazer, the men had just committed an armed robbery of a nearby Safeway store. Deputy Bazer attempted to flee, however, one of the suspects shot her in the back at close range. The suspects removed Deputy Bazer’s keys from her hand and fled the scene in her car. The suspects soon abandoned Deputy Bazer’s car and were picked up by an accomplice in another vehicle.

A local Border Patrol Agent on patrol nearby noticed suspicious activity among the suspects and attempted to stop them. Following a short pursuit, the suspects abandoned the vehicle and fled into a rural area. The suspects were apprehended hours later, following a massive, multi-agency search. They were ultimately convicted for the murder of Deputy Bazer and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

Deputy Bazer is survived by her husband Michael and their two children, Jess and Andrea. Other surviving family members include Deputy Bazer’s father and stepmother, Thomas and Nancy Hotchkiss and her mother, Gail Reed Patterson.