Nevada Highway Patrol to wear memorial patch for slain trooper

For the next year, the Nevada Highway Patrol will wear a memorial uniform patch for Sgt. Ben Jenkins, the trooper who was shot and killed in the line of duty last month on a remote highway.

Troopers will wear the patch on the right shoulder of their duty uniforms until the conclusion of next year’s National Police Week, which runs May 9-15, 2021, the Highway Patrol announced Tuesday.

The public can purchase the blue, silver and white patch — which features Jenkins’ date of death, March 27, along with his name and patrol number — while supplies last through the Nevada Injured Police Officers Fund at www.ipof.vegas. All proceeds will be donated to Jenkins’ family.

The 47-year-old man is survived by his wife, five children and four grandchildren.

He was shot just before dawn on March 27 after pulling over on U.S. Highway 93, north of Ely, to check on a stopped motorist.

Authorities have said the motorist then opened fire, striking Jenkins multiple times.

Jenkins had devoted his life to public service. He was a veteran of both the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, reaching the rank of sergeant first class in the Army Guard before transferring to the Air Guard in 1995, according to a National Guard spokesman.

He started his career with the Highway Patrol in 2009 as a trooper in Jackpot and was promoted to sergeant in Elko in 2017.

The suspect in Jenkins’ killing, 66-year-old John Dabritz, is charged with open murder, third-degree arson, grand larceny of a motor vehicle and grand larceny of a firearm. He has been ordered to undergo a competency evaluation.

White Pine County District Attorney Michael Wheable has said prosecutors could decide to seek capital punishment.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.