The police chief of Kalama, Washington died at home Tuesday evening after suffering a medical event while making an arrest earlier in the day.
Police Chief Randy Gibson, who had long been battling cancer, went into respiratory distress after conducting a high-stress arrest, according to The Daily News The 59-year-old drove himself to a local hospital and was later discharged to his home at his own request and died later in the day.
Officers escorted his body from his home to the coroner's office and his body was later escorted from the coroner's office to the funeral home.
Gibson had been chief since October 2011 and previously served as a lieutenant with the Greene County Sheriff's Office in Springfield, Missouri.
Before joining the police department, the city had gone through three chiefs in 17 years.
"He took a department that was in decay and brought it back to respectability," Kalama Mayor Pete Poulsen told the newspaper. "He was an incredible administrator, an incredible person, and an incredible law enforcement officer. There will be no one else like him."
Gibson is survived by his wife, Dawn Gibson.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
