Sergeant Arthur W. Koch, 34, of the Fairfield Police Department was mortally wounded on July 28, 1984, after being shot while responding to a disturbance call at 600 block of Berkeley Way in Fairfield. Koch, recently promoted to sergeant and a Marine Corps veteran, suffered massive internal injuries from a high-powered rifle and died about nine hours later at Intercommunity Hospital. He left behind a wife and children.

The shooter, Stan Veketis, a legless Vietnam veteran who lived at the address, barricaded himself in the home after the ambush. Following a seven-hour standoff, Veketis surrendered and was charged with first-degree murder. Paramedics and firefighters had to use a stream of water to suppress the suspect’s position while rescuers retrieved the wounded officer.

Koch’s death was the Fairfield Police Department’s first line-of-duty fatality at that time. Nearly 1,000 law enforcement officers from Northern California and hundreds of family and friends attended his memorial service. Who in the community has information or memories to share about Sergeant Koch or the case?