Officer Wilmers was shot and killed as he attempted to arrest a switchman in the railroad yards. Officer Wilmers had learned that the railroad worker was carrying a gun and went to the Frisco Railroad Yard to arrest him. During the arrest the man shot Officer Wilmers in the spine and then fled. Officer Wilmers fell to the ground and the suspect fled the scene. The wound left Officer Wilmers paralyzed until his death 11 days later at St. Luke's Hospital. The suspect was apprehended and positively identified by Officer Wilmers before his death.

Officer Wilmers had been with the agency for one year and was survived by his wife and child.