Manuel H. Tapia

End of Watch:  Tuesday, January 8, 1991
Badge:  1409
Age:  41

Sgt. Manuel H. Tapia was shot on the night of January 7, 1991, in Nogales by a drug suspect after a traffic stop. Sgt. Tapia asked the suspect, Noel Gonzales-Bernal, to open the vehicle's trunk. At this point, the suspect fled on foot with Sgt. Tapia chasing after him. The suspect then turned and shot Sgt. Tapia, fatally wounding him. He died the following day, January 8, 1991, at Tucson Medical Center. The suspect was later shot and killed by a Nogales police officer.