Sergeant Frank A. McAteer

Sergeant Frank A. McAteer

La Plata County Sheriff's Office, Colorado

End of Watch Sunday, July 5, 1981

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Frank A. McAteer

Sergeant Frank McAteer suffered a fatal heart attack following a long struggle with a suspect.

He and another local officer attempted to arrest the man for disorderly conduct. During the arrest, the man began to struggle, and it took five to ten minutes to subdue him. On the way to the jail, Sergeant McAteer began complaining of chest and leg pains but attributed it to the long struggle.

While booking the prisoner in the jail, Sergeant McAteer suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed. He died the next day.

Sergeant McAteer had served with the La Plata County Sheriff's Office for 4 years. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.

Bio

  • Age 39
  • Tour 4 years
  • Badge 509

Incident Details

  • Cause Heart attack
  • Incident Date Saturday, July 4, 1981

arrest, struggle

Most Recent Reflection

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Heavenly Father, I come before You today grieved in heart over the divisions in our country; the United States of America. I grieve for every life lost to violence, regardless of color or creed. And I especially grieve this day over the senseless deaths of America’s Peace Officers whose sworn duty is to protect us from harm. Please grant comfort and hope to their families. I know from the Holy Scriptures in Romans 13 that Peace Officers have a sacred task, to enforce laws that protect the innocent and punish the guilty. I pray that You will protect them as they serve us. Give them wisdom, discernment, and a deep desire to serve You. Please surround every Peace Officer in our nation, the United States of America, with battalions of warring angels to protect them from harm. I stand in the powerful and mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ against every work of Satan intended to inflict injury and death on our Protectors. May Satan’s power be thwarted, in Your mighty and holy name, and his plans exposed by Your Light. In the mighty and holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer, and the Mediator between us, Heavenly Father, in prayer, and by His authority, I pray! Amen.

Please find Encouragement, Comfort, Support, and Hope from God's Word:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
[Matthew 5:9 ESV];

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." [Psalm 23:4 ESV];

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
[John 15:13 ESV];

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." [Matthew 5:4 ESV];

"And he [Jesus] said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." [Luke 23:43 ESV], and;

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." [John 3:16 ESV].

Minister Steven R. Closs, DDiv, MSBS, NACM
Ordained/Licensed Independent NACM Minister
The I'M PRAYING MINISTRY - "An Intercessory Prayer Ministry"
Member: Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers - USA

Captain Steven R. Closs (Retired)
Nashua NH Police Department (1974-1998)

July 4, 2025

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