Washington State Patrol, Washington
End of Watch Sunday, September 26, 2021
Trooper Eric Gunderson died from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 while at a training conference in Champions Gate, Florida.
Trooper Gunderson was the technology liaison in the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and a member of the SWAT Team. His pioneering work with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) had been chronicled in media stories across the nation. He had traveled around the country representing the Washington State Patrol for UAV usage to shorten the time of road closures during collision investigations. It is on one of these trips that he contracted COVID.
Trooper Gunderson had served with Washington State Patrol for 15 years. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Beginning in early 2020, due to the requirements of their job, thousands of law enforcement officers and other first responders throughout the United States contracted COVID-19 during the worldwide pandemic. Hundreds of law enforcement officers died from medical complications as a result of contracting the virus while remaining on duty and interacting with the community.