KHOU 11
Author: KHOU 11 Staff
Published: 7:13 PM CST January 21, 2024
Updated: 5:45 PM CST January 22, 2024

LA PORTE, Texas — La Porte Police Chief Doug Ditrich died in a tree-cutting accident over the weekend, according to the Sabine County Sheriff's Office.

The accident happened in Milam, Texas, on Sunday. SCSO said Ditrich was found dead at a location off Telephone Road. Investigators said he died in a tree-cutting accident but didn't say exactly what happened.

Ditrich started working for La Porte PD in December 1997 and took over as the chief in May 2023, according to his bio page on the department's website.

According to the La Porte Police Department, the accident was unrelated to law enforcement duties and foul play wasn't involved. The department also said they would provide counseling to police department and City of La Porte employees.

Information about a service for Ditrich has not been shared yet.

Posted by Sabine County Sheriff's Office on Monday, January 22, 2024

La Porte Mayor Louis R. Rigby issued this statement on Ditrich's passing:

"The City of La Porte is heartbroken to have lost Chief Doug Ditrich, a law enforcement professional who served our community since 1997. We join his family in mourning a hero whose heart and soul were all about caring for others. To know Doug was to know what was good in La Porte. He loved his department and seeing our citizens being served well by it. He was a family man and a key member of the City's leadership team and could so often be found participating in charitable events around town. Doug Ditrich was a friend whose loss I feel profoundly. On behalf of the City of La Porte, I extend our deepest condolences and support to Sherri and their kids and to Doug's law enforcement family. We miss you, Chief."