Many travel from Stateline toward Cave Rock on US-50 at Lake Tahoe daily, passing by the highway memorial sign of Trooper Gary Gifford, without knowing his story. On Oct. 14, 1975, Gifford was the first Nevada Highway Patrol officer to die in the line of duty in the agency’s, at the time, 26-year history.
Last week, members of his family gathered with representatives from the Nevada State Police Highway Patrol Division, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, the Nevada Police Union, and retired law enforcement personnel to remember the life and service of Gifford on the 50th anniversary of his death.
Gifford was patrolling the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe when there was a bank robbery at the former First National Bank of Nevada, located at Round Hill. The armed suspect left by car with Gifford catching up with him and making a traffic stop just before the tunnel at Cave Rock.
There was an altercation between Gifford and the suspect when the trooper was shot and killed. The suspect was able to force another man near Cave Rock State Park to drive him around the lake to Kings Beach, where he took four people hostage. Later that evening, the suspect, Ken Meller, surrendered to authorities after an eight-hour standoff.
Gifford first joined the NHP in July 1969 and had resigned for a period of a few months to take the post of assistant chief of the Fallon Police Department. He was reinstated to the patrol in July and was assigned to the Incline Village area, where he made his home.
A native of San Francisco, he served four years in the U.S. Navy before joining the NHP. He had served with the Nevada Highway Patrol for six years before his death. He left behind his son, ex-wife, his parents and sister.
His son Jim was just five when his dad was killed. Jim now lives in Reno with his wife and family. They made it up to Tahoe for the memorial, just as they did ten years ago on the 40th anniversary.
Jim started the ceremony by addressing the gathered crowd, encouraging everyone to share memories of his father, and there were several good laughs.
“There were some difficult times after dad’s death,” Jim said. “Thank you for remembering my dad 50 years later. This is very special.”
He also recalls seeing the photo of the man who killed his father years later, on the news, but this time it was about the killer’s own death in prison.
Meller, who was then 45 and serving a life term without the possibility of parole, pulled out a 4″ buck knife and took a female doctor hostage in the infirmary of the Northern Nevada Correctional Center. Making no demands but not talking to the responding officers from Carson City, many thought it to be a suicide-by-cop. The hours-long hostage situation occurred just days short of the 14th anniversary of Gifford’s death.
One of those responding at the prison spoke at the memorial. Former Carson City Sheriff Paul McGrath went to the prison as law enforcement, but he also had ties to Meller — they grew up together in Glen Ellen, Calif., and were close friends.
McGrath even called the prisoner’s mother to try and talk to her son, but nothing worked.
Retired NHP Sgt. Tom Hammill and retired NHP Lt. Angelo Webster both led the remembrance with entertaining stories of Gifford, including the deceased trooper getting stuck with what was perhaps the worst patrol car, kept together with Bondo. Hammill and Gifford responded one wintry night to a woman in labor, pulled over on the side of the road. They got the soon-to-be mother into the “Bondo Special” car and barely made it to St. Mary’s with parts of it falling apart on the heroic drive in a storm.
“It doesn’t seem possible it was 50 years ago today, I was one of the cover units responding to Gary’s shooting,” said Sgt. James vonRosenberg, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. “It was a very long day as five departments attempted to locate the suspect and his vehicle in the Lake Tahoe area. His funeral in San Francisco was a day none of us will ever forget. Our department sent five deputies from the Incline Village Station to say goodbye to a friend.”
