A Tucson police officer was killed in a crash Sunday night in midtown while answering a call, officials say.
Chief Chad Kasmar, visibly shaken and pausing often to collect his thoughts during a news conference Monday morning, identified the officer as Adam Buckner, 31.
Buckner
Officers were answering reports of a man breaking windows at an “occupied business” located near East Speedway and North Campbell Avenue when the crash occurred, according to a Tucson police news release. Extra officers were called to the area to help find the alleged vandal, police say.
Buckner, one of the officers responding to the call, had a green light while headed north on Campbell — using the emergency lights and siren on his 2007 Ford Crown Victoria patrol car — when he collided with a vehicle that “failed to yield” while making a turn at East Sixth Street, Kasmar said during Monday’s conference.
Buckner’s vehicle collided with a white sedan, according to the release, and the force of the collision “sent the officer’s patrol vehicle into a traffic signal pole on the northeast corner of the intersection.”
Bystanders rushed to help Buckner before other officers and emergency responders arrived to take over, the chief said.
Buckner died later at Banner University Medical Center. He is the ninth Tucson Police officer to die in the line of duty, according to the department’s release.
“Officer Buckner was a son, a brother, a husband, and a friend of many. He was a true law enforcement professional,” Kasmar said on Monday. “It didn’t take long to recognize that for him to shine, and (Buckner) quickly became of our lead police officers.”
The driver of the white sedan was sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the release said.
There was no indication of impairment and no citations have been issued in the ongoing investigation, Kasmar said Monday.
“Tucson lost a brave guardian last night,” Kasmar said during the news conference in which he was flanked by Mayor Regina Romero and City Manager Michael Ortega. “People loved his enthusiasm and his desire to serve this community.”
Buckner joined the TPD in November 2021 after serving four years in the New Orleans Police Department.
Buckner rose quickly to become a lead officer and was recognized in June as officer of the month in the TPD midtown division for his work on a domestic violence and homicide case, Kasmar said.
No more details about the wreck were provided and Kasmar asked for patience while the investigation “answers the questions we all want to know.”
Markings are left at the scene at North Campbell Avenue and East Sixth Street, Monday morning, where Tucson Police Department officer Adam Buckner crashed his patrol car on the way to a call Sunday night shortly before 10 p.m. Buckner died later at Banner University Medical Center.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the TPD traffic unit at 520-791-4389.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said that Sunday night was a tragic loss to the community.
“The loss of a police officer is tragic. It is a loss shared by the family and the members of the Tucson Police Department in particular, yet it is one we all share,” Romero said on Monday.
“I understand and am appreciative of the sacrifice that our police officers and their families make when they choose to serve and protect our community; my heart, my prayers, my love in acknowledging the service that you do for all of us and the ultimate sacrifice that some have to make for the benefit of our community,” Romero said.
Final arrangements are underway and “will be shared with the community in the coming days,” the department said.
Donations to Buckner’s family, can be made through the Erik Hite Foundation at: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/tpdofficeradambuckner/
