On April 21, 2007, Deputy Philip A. Rodriguez of the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office was killed in the line of duty in a single-vehicle collision on Interstate 40 in Kingman. Deputy Rodriguez was just 21 years old.
In keeping with tradition, Deputy Rodriguez’s name was engraved on the Arizona Peace Officers Memorial at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza in front of the state capitol complex in Phoenix.
Deputy Rodriguez’s father, Philip Sr., did not know about the memorial engraving until a family member told him about it recently. That family member reached out to AZDPS Capitol District Captain Aaron Lorenzen and Sergeant Robert Nowlan to request a picture of Deputy Rodriguez’s name on the memorial in order to share it with Philip Sr. When they received the request, Captain Lorenzen and Sergeant Nowlan had a bigger vision and decided to do a little more for Philip Sr.
On October 19, 2022, with the help of our colleagues at the Idaho State Police (ISP) and Deputy Rodriguez’s family, Philip Rodriguez Sr. received a very special delivery. Sergeant Brandalyn Crapo and fellow members of the ISP Honor Guard surprised Philip Sr. by showing up at his front door in Idaho to formally present him with a large, framed photograph and an inscription rubbing of his son’s name on the Arizona Peace Officers Memorial. The photo shows members of the AZDPS Honor Guard standing with the memorial displaying Deputy Rodriguez’s name.
Thank you to the Rodriguez family and the Idaho State Police for their support and assistance in honoring Deputy Rodriguez and creating a special experience for his father.
