Duty Death: Ken Zink - [San Pablo]
End of Service: 29/09/2016
Norcal Patch
NORTH BAY, CA – San Pablo police are mourning the loss of Officer William “Ken” Zink, who was killed on Interstate Highway 80 on Thursday morning when he collided with a big rig on his motorcycle in Vallejo.
Zink, 53, of Dixon, was riding west on a 2001 Harley Davidson motorcycle between a Nissan Titan in one lane and a Freightliner truck with a flatbed trailer in another lane around 6:25 a.m., California Highway Patrol, Officer David Harvey said.
Zink was ejected and struck by the big-rig after his motorcycle collided with the Nissan. He was pronounced dead at 6:45 a.m.
Zink served as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and the El Cerrito Police Department before coming to San Pablo, according to San Pablo Police Cmdr. Brian Bubar.
Zink achieved the rank of Master Officer and held several positions in the department, Bubar said.
Zink was named Officer of the Year by his peers in 2010, and in 2012 received the Al Stewart Award, the most prestigious award from the California Narcotics Officer Association.
Zink said his most rewarding role was his last assignment, as a school resource officer at Helms Middle School, Bubar said.
“Ken carried all the qualities one could ask for in a police officer: patience, compassion, kindness,” Bubar said in a statement. “Ken is considered irreplaceable by all who knew him.”
Zink is survived by seven children.