The Kent Police Department issued condolences on Sunday, Sept. 26 after the death of Washington State Patrol Trooper Detective Eric Gunderson, who the department said is the brother of Kent Police K-9 Officer Gunderson.
“We do not have the words to describe the magnitude of the loss of Trooper Detective Gunderson to his family, friends, WSP and the law enforcement community,” according to a Kent Police statement. “He was a true servant and will be sorely missed. Please keep his family, friends and law enforcement family in your thoughts and prayers.”
Detective Gunderson died in the early morning hours of Sunday, Sept. 26 after a courageous battle with COVID-19 contracted while in service to the state of Washington, according to a State Patrol press release.
Gunderson, 38, had worked nearly 16 years for the State Patrol. He died peacefully surrounded by family, friends and loved ones and is survived by his wife Kameron (Kami), and sons Blake (13) and Braden (10).
Gunderson is the 32nd member of the Washington State Patrol to die in the line of duty.
“Eric Gunderson was a respected trooper and public servant,” State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste said. “His is the first line of duty death since we commemorated our first century of service to this state just a few weeks ago. How I had hoped our second century of service would be more forgiving. But serving the public, as we do, has inherent dangers and this pandemic has been a foe to our agency and indeed our state and nation.”
Gunderson was the technology liaison in the Criminal Investigation Division (CID), located in District 1 in Thurston and Pierce counties. In his role he helped all CID detectives, Field Operations Bureau Collision Technical Specialist (CTS), Collision Reconstruction Troopers, and the Crime Lab Division Crime Scene Response Team with technology questions, training and troubleshooting. He also was a member of the WSP SWAT team.
An early adopter and enthusiast of unmanned aerial technology, Gunderson’s work with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been chronicled in media stories across the nation. His pioneering work has allowed the state to shorten the time of road closures during collision investigations and of specific note, his work after the 2017 Amtrak passenger train derailment in DuPont gained wide acclaim and appreciation for its precision and value.
Gunderson traveled around the country representing the WSP as a premiere agency in the world for UAV usage, according to the press release. He contracted COVID when he was on one of these trips. The State Patrol didn’t say whether Gunderson was vaccinated. A spokesperson said the agency is unable to share private medical information.
Planning for memorial services will be underway following the guidance and wishes of the family and will be announced in the days to come.
“We will show our fallen hero the respect and honors his service to our state and agency deserves,” Batiste said. “For now, we simply will hold one another close as we grieve the loss of our dear friend.”
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