On October 5, 1983, Trooper Travis Leon Bench, 27, was killed during a traffic stop on Highway 97 between Sapulpa and Sand Springs, Oklahoma. Bench, who had served one year with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol after three years with the Sapulpa Police Department, pulled over a vehicle driven by Charles Enoch Brown when he discovered the driver’s license was suspended. As Bench attempted to place Brown under arrest, Brown produced a pistol and shot the trooper in the head.

Bench was taken for medical treatment but died about two hours later. He was survived by his wife and their 3-month-old daughter. Charles Enoch Brown was arrested and charged with first-degree murder; the case went to trial in Creek County, where the jury returned a guilty verdict and imposed a life sentence.

Any readers who knew Trooper Bench or have information about the case are asked to come forward.