SMPD Remembers Sgt. Gordon Joinville’s on the 57th Anniversary of His Line of Duty Death 
Friday, May 23, 2025, marks the 57th anniversary of the End of Watch for San Mateo Police Detective Sergeant Gordon Joinville, who died on May 23, 1968.
San Mateo, CA. – Wednesday, May 21, 2025. On the heels of National Police Week (May 11 – 17) and Police Officers’ Memorial Day (May 15), where we recognized the line of duty deaths of both San Mateo Police Officers our department has lost since it’s inception in 1907, Special Reserve Officer Steven Clark in August 1956 and Sgt. Gordon Joinville in 1968, our department will again recognize Sgt. Joinville’s passing this Friday, May 23, 2025 as we hold a memorial ceremony for him on the 57th anniversary of his death.
On May 23, 1968, Detective Sergeant Gordon Joinville was investigating an LSD manufacturing case. Sgt. Joinville conducted a traffic stop on a suspect near the intersection of 5th Ave and S. Claremont St. While Sgt. Joinville was attempting to run the suspect's license plate over the police radio, the suspect shot him twice at point-blank range. Sgt. Joinville eventually succumbed to his injuries at Mills Hospital. At the time of his death, Sgt. Joinville was 34 years old, a 12-year veteran of SMPD, and left behind a wife, two small children ages 3 & 4.
Friday, May 23, 2025, will mark the 57th anniversary of Sgt. Joinville’s End of Watch (EOW). As in years past, we will honor Sgt. Joinville’s sacrifice with a memorial ceremony. This year the ceremony will take place at Joinville Park at 5pm. If you'd like to join us for this brief memorial, please feel free to stop by and pay your respects.
A blue light pole has been installed at the location of Sgt. Joinville's shooting and the blue light shines 24/7 in honor of his sacrifice. If you'd like to see it, you can find this light at 5th Avenue and S. Claremont Street at the rear of Kiku Crossing.
We ask our community to remember Sgt. Joinville, who died serving the San Mateo community, and for that, we should be ever grateful. Our agency hopes to never suffer another line of duty death.
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Address/Location
San Mateo, CA Police Department
200 Franklin Pkwy
San Mateo, CA 94403
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 650-522-7700
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