Funeral for Slain HPD Officer (1968)

Duration: 1:04

Year Published: 1968

Sound: No Sound on Film

Description: This news segment for Houston’s KPRC-TV likely captures the funeral service for Officer Ben Gerhart of the Houston Police Department on June 28, 1968. Gerhart was killed in the line of duty two days earlier. He was a 15-year veteran on the force. The Associated Press reports that on June 26, Roderick Isaacks shot Officer Ben Gerhart to death after the officer stopped Isaacks’ car at a West Loop overpass in northwest Houston. A police chase ensued, ending when Isaacks’ car crashed into another vehicle. Isaacks jumped from the wreckage and ran into a field. He was killed in the subsequent gun battle with police. Another officer died during the chase. To miss the two cars that had collided, officer Bobby James swerved his patrol car into a culvert, fatally injuring himself. A funeral for James, a 16-year veteran, was held on June 29.