ELY, Nevada, March 27, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Law enforcement officials have released the name of the Nevada Highway Patrol trooper who died in the line of duty early Friday morning on U.S. 93 in Ely.
Investigators say Sgt. Ben Jenkins had stopped to help a motorist about 5:54 a.m. when he was shot and killed.
The suspect then allegedly stole Jenkins’ uniform and his patrol vehicle.
The suspect was captured several hours later in a coordinated effort between multiple law enforcement agencies, including helicopter support provided by the Utah Department of Public Safety.
The suspect’s name and details of his arrest have yet to be released.
Jenkins, 47, was an Elko native who started working with Nevada Highway Patrol in March 2008.
In 2011, he was awarded the Gold Medal of Valor, the Nevada Department of Public Safety’s highest honor reserved for officers who perform extraordinary acts of heroism.
According to a statement by the Eureka County Sheriff’s Office, Jenkins leaves behind a wife, mother, four children, and five grandchildren.
The full ECSO statement on his line-of-duty death is as follows:
We are devastated to report that Sergeant Ben Jenkins #4196 was killed in the line of duty this morning. Sgt. Jenkins had stopped to assist a motorist on US-93 in the White Pine county area. During this contact, the motorist open fired on Sgt. Ben Jenkins, who was struck and killed. The motorist stole the Sergeant’s uniform and fled the scene in Sgt. Jenkins’ patrol vehicle. Following a search that lasted several hours, the suspect was located and taken into custody with the assistance of multiple agencies.
Jenkins who devoted his life to public service and to serving Nevadans. He began working for the Highway Patrol in March 2008 as a Trooper in Jackpot and was promoted to Sergeant in Elko in 2017. Prior to NHP, he was a training officer for the Nevada State Fire Marshal Division, a crew supervisor for the Nevada Division of Forestry, an Assistant Fire Chief for the Spring Creek Volunteer Fire Department, and a veteran of both the Army National Guard and Air National Guard. In 2011, Jenkins received the Nevada Department of Public Safety’s highest honor, the Gold Medal of Valor, which is presented to officers who perform an extraordinary act of heroism.
He is survived by his wife, his mother, four children, and five grandchildren. This is a time of tremendous grief for our agency, his family, and our communities. A memorial service is pending and that information will be forthcoming at a later date.
#4196, rest easy. We’ve got the watch from here.
