Patrolman
Jeffrey Brady Westerfield
Gary Police Department
Sunday, July 6, 2014

Age: 47
Served: 18 years, 10 months
Badge #: 1320
Panel 3E, Line 29 (2015)
Panel L19, Line 13 (2014)

Incident Details

Cause of Death:
Gunfire
Date/Time of Incident:
Sunday, July 6, 2014
05:50 am
Incident to Death Duration:
Same day
Incident Location:
26th Avenue near Van Buren Place, Gary
Incident County:
Lake
Incident Township:
Calumet
Weapon Used:
.40-caliber handgun
Suspect Disposition:
Sentenced to life without parole
(currently incarcerated)
Burial Place:
Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens, Schererville

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   Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield was found by a citizen shot to death, on his 47th birthday, while sitting in his patrol car.

   Responding officers discovered he had suffered a single gunshot wound to the head in his parked patrol car on 26th Avenue east of Van Buren Place. His service weapon was holstered and five .40-caliber shell casings were found outside of his patrol car.

   Patrolman Westerfield had last responded with other officers to a domestic disturbance call less than a mile away in which shots were fired about two hours earlier.

   Two suspects were taken into custody later that afternoon during a search of the nearby area. A 25-year-old male was charged with murder and later pleaded guilty to be spared the death penalty. In February 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

   Patrolman Westerfield was survived by his four daughters, Alexandra, Cheyenne, Katie and Rachel; son, Brady; and fiancée Denise Sheaks-Cather, whom he was engaged to have married the following month.

Military Service


United States Army
Persian Gulf War

Historical Notes

• Patrolman Westerfield was the third of four Indiana line of duty deaths in 2014.
• He is the 15th line of duty death of the Gary Police Department.
• His line of duty death is the 56th that has originated from Lake County.

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Gary Police Department

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Patrolman Jeffrey Brady Westerfield - Gary Police Department - INLEM.org