Trooper Jimmie E. Linegar

Badge #865

Just six weeks after the death of Trooper Froemsdorf, the Patrol was again struck with tragedy when Trooper Jimmie E. Linegar, 31, was shot to death on April 15, 1985, at the intersection of US-65 and MO-86 south of Branson, Missouri, in Taney County.

Trooper Linegar and Trooper Allen D. Hines were conducting a spot check when Trooper Linegar stopped David C. Tate and ran his license. Neither Trooper Linegar or Trooper Hines was aware that the man they had stopped had just been indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for involvement in a Neo-Nazi group accused of murder. David Tate shot Trooper Linegar with a machine pistol as Trooper Linegar approached the van to ask more questions. In the ensuing gun battle Trooper Hines was wounded and Tate ran into the nearby woods.

After another extensive manhunt involving local, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, Tate was apprehended on April 20. It was a citizen who recognized Tate and reported his whereabouts to law enforcement officers that enabled the capture to be made without further incidence. Tate was convicted of the murder of Trooper Linegar and was given a life without parole sentence. Trooper Linegar was the 13th officer killed in the line of duty.

Trooper Linegar was survived by his wife, a 5-year-old daughter, and a 3-year-old son.

As part of the Patrol's 75th Anniversary Celebration, employees of the Patrol have written in-depth articles about each of the officers that have been killed in the line of duty. These stories go more into the officer's life, who they were and their families, then just the circumstances of their death.

Read a more detailed article about Trooper Jimmie E. Linegar