Indiana Line of Duty Deaths – Superlatives

The statistics on this page are accurate as of March 6, 2019.

First Line of Duty Deaths
Franklin County Constable Robert Murphy – 1824 (22nd in U.S.)
Harrison County Sheriff William Gresham – 1834
Dubois County Sheriff Thomas Wooldridge – 1842

First Female Line of Duty Deaths
Gary Policewoman Pearl Agnes Lanham – 1930 (6th in U.S.)
Indianapolis Officer Teresa Jean Hawkins – 1993
Shelby County Deputy Sheriff Stacia Suzanne Alyea – 1996

First and Only Female African-American Line of Duty Death
Lake County Correctional Officer Britney Rachelle Meux – 2012

First African-American Line of Duty Deaths
Indianapolis Merchant Policeman John L. Watterson – 1893
Indianapolis Officer William Whitfield – 1922
Indianapolis Officer John Frank Buchanan – 1926

Youngest Officer Line of Duty Deaths
LaGrange County Jail Officer Gregory Owen Cushing (1995) – 19 years old (6th youngest in U.S.)
Bloomington Officer Ralph Wayne Pogue (1928) – 20 years old
Pennsylvania Railroad Special Officer William Gerald Sibert (1922) – 21 years old

Oldest Officer Line of Duty Deaths
Indianapolis Officer David S. Richards (1922) – 75 years old
Grant County Constable Frank Orlando Ury (1928) – 74 years old
Clay City Town Marshal Perry Wilson Haviland (1967) – 73 years old

Shortest Serving Officers With Line of Duty Deaths
Carmel Deputy Constable William Frank Carey (1900) – 1 day
Dubois County Deputy Sheriff William S. Cox (1887) – 1 day
Dubois County Deputy Sheriff John E. Gardner (1885) – 1 day
Vanderburgh County Special Deputy Sheriff William Henry Engel (1919) – 1 day

Longest Serving Officers With Line of Duty Deaths
Indianapolis Officer David S. Richards (1922) – 39 years, 9 months
Schererville Chief of Police Peter George Redar (1964) – 37 years
Hammond Captain George Thomas Hanlon (1937) – 36 years, 4 months

Line of Duty Deaths With Longest Incident to Death Durations
Indianapolis Officer David S. Richards (1922) – 42 years, 185 days (6th longest in U.S.)
Fort Wayne Sergeant Kenneth William Hayden (1989) – 15 years, 24 days
Vigo County Deputy Sheriff John M. Cleary (1892) – 14 years, 305 days

Line of Duty Death Incidents Occurring Out of State
Gary Detective James Louis Kelly (1932) – Illinois
Indiana State Trooper Eugene Orville Teague (1933) – Illinois
Jeffersonville Patrolman William Albert Drury (1945) – Kentucky
Fort Wayne Officer Omega Graham Jr. (1987) – Michigan
Richmond Patrolman John Wesley Hennigar (1924) – Ohio
Indianapolis International Airport Officer James Douglas Bossen (1982) – Virginia

Incidents Resulting in the Line of Duty Deaths of Two Officers – 23
• First Occurrence – 1885
Dubois County Deputy Sheriff William S. Cox
Dubois County Deputy Sheriff John E. Gardner

• Most Recent Occurrence – 2006
Indiana State Lieutenant Gary Edward Dudley
Lake County Deputy Chief Gary Lynn Martin

Line of Duty Deaths With the Youngest Offenders
Lake County Sergeant William Gilbert Paterson (1994) – 14-year-old male offender
Indiana State Trooper Herbert Wade Smith (1946) – 14-year-old female offender
Clay County Sheriff Roy James Tipton Sr. (1931) – 15-year-old male offender
Lawrence Officer Craig Steven Herbert (2005) – 15-year-old male offender
Floyd County Officer Frank Charles Denzinger (2007) – 15-year-old male offender
Indiana State Trooper Herbert Wade Smith (1946) – 15-year-old female offender
South Bend Corporal Paul Richard Deguch (1997) – 16-year-old male offender
Beech Grove Lieutenant Thomas L. Kleis (1991) – 16-year-old male offender

Line of Duty Deaths With the Oldest Offenders
Mitchell Officer George Edward Stillman (1965) – 89-year-old male offender
Jay County Deputy Sheriff Paul Howard Prater (1983) – 87-year-old male offender
Franklin County Constable Robert Murphy (1824) – 84-year-old male offender

Most Days Without a Line of Duty Death Since 1910
June 3, 1943 to June 20, 1945 – 748 days (2 years, 17 days)
June 23, 1949 to June 25, 1951 – 732 days (2 years, 2 days)
September 21, 1938 to August 16, 1940 – 695 days (1 year, 330 days)
September 8, 2014 to March 20, 2016 – 559 days (1 year, 194 days)
December 30, 1984 to May 8, 1986 – 494 days (1 year, 129 days)

Agencies With the Most Line of Duty Deaths
• Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department – 69
(including its predecessor agencies, Indianapolis Police Department – 57
and Marion County Sheriff’s Department – Law Enforcement Division – 9)
• Indiana State Police – 43
• Gary Police Department – 15
(including the former Miller Town Marshal’s Office – 1)
• South Bend Police Department – 15
• Terre Haute Police Department – 13

Counties With the Most Line of Duty Deaths
Marion – 86  •  Lake – 53  •  St. Joseph and Vigo – 21
Allen – 17  •  LaPorte – 14  •  Grant, Madison and Wayne – 10

Counties Without a Line of Duty Death – 16
Bartholomew  •  Benton  •  Brown  •  Cass  •  Crawford
Daviess  •  Fountain  •  Martin  •  Ohio  •  Owen  •  Pike
Ripley  •  Starke  •  Switzerland  •  Wells  •  Whitley

Years With the Most Line of Duty Deaths
1923 – 10
1928, 1931 and 1974 – 9
1926, 1961, 1967 and 1997 – 8
1922, 1924, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1934, 2001 and 2007 – 7
1935, 1955, 1980, 1981 and 1998 – 6

Calendar Dates With the Most Line of Duty Deaths
February 7 and May 27 – 6
June 18 and December 11 – 5

Burial Places With the Most Fallen Officers
Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis – 37
Washington Park Cemetery East, Indianapolis – 12
Calvary Cemetery, Portage – 10
Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens, Schererville – 8
Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery, Indianapolis – 8
Highland Lawn Cemetery, Terre Haute – 7
Estates of Serenity, Marion – 6
Forest Lawn Memory Gardens, Greenwood – 6

Out-of-State Burial Places of Fallen Officers
California – 1  •  Illinois – 3  •  Iowa – 1
Kentucky – 5  •  Michigan – 3  •  Missouri – 1
Ohio – 2  •  Tennessee – 2  •  Virginia – 1
Canada – 2

Out-of-State Officers With Line of Duty Death Incidents Occurring in Indiana