Brian Jeffery Tunnell was a 27-year-old Miami Police Department patrolman who died after being shot while serving a felony warrant on June 5, 1988. He had served seven years on the force. The incident occurred at the Elms Motel in Miami, Oklahoma, where Tunnell was assisting another officer. During a struggle with the subject of the warrant, that person gained control of the other officer’s weapon and fired at point-blank range, striking Tunnell.

After the shooting the suspect fled briefly. The second officer, now without his own firearm, picked up Tunnell’s service weapon and chased. The suspect tripped; as he reached for a dropped revolver the pursuing officer shot and fatally wounded him. Tunnell was taken to Francis Hospital but died about three hours later.

If anyone has memories of Patrolman Tunnell, the Elms Motel, or that day in Miami, Oklahoma, please share what you know.