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 (26th 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
First and Only Asian Line of Duty Death
Vigo County Special Deputy Sheriff Enrico Aquino Garcia Jr. – 2007
First Federal Officer Line of Duty Deaths
Federal Warehouse Agent Robert Garfield Anderson – 1923
Federal Prohibition Agent Lawrence Albert Mommer – 1929
Federal Prohibition Agent Roy Walter Shafer – 1930
First Railroad Officer Line of Duty Deaths
Pennsylvania Lines Special Officer Augustus F. Fuchshuber – 1894
Pennsylvania Railroad Detective Jesse Shisler – 1899
Pennsylvania Railroad Detective John Mahoney – 1906
Youngest Officer Line of Duty Deaths
LaGrange County Jail Officer Gregory Owen Cushing (1995) – 19 years old (8th 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.)
Richmond Patrolman Kenneth Reid Lester (2020) – 24 years, 358 days
Marion County Deputy Sheriff Arvin Earl Kays (1990) – 21 years, 317 days
Jefferson County Reserve Deputy Sheriff John Clifford Stahl III (2025) – 21 years, 1 day
• A total of 14 officers had line of duty death incident to death durations longer than one year
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) – 88-year-old male offender
Franklin County Constable Robert Murphy (1824) – 84-year-old male offender
Most Days Without a Line of Duty Death Since 1900
November 8, 1900 to July 4, 1903 – 968 days (2 years, 238 days)
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)
November 26, 1903 to April 9, 1905 – 500 days (1 year, 134 days)
December 30, 1984 to May 8, 1986 – 494 days (1 year, 129 days)
April 2, 1908 to June 7, 1909 – 432 days (1 year, 66 days)
Years Without a Line of Duty Death Since 1900
1901 • 1902 • 1904 • 1939 • 1950 • 1985 • 2015
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 – 46
Washington Park Cemetery East, Indianapolis – 13
Calvary Cemetery, Portage – 10
Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery, Indianapolis – 10
Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens, Schererville – 8
Estates of Serenity, Marion – 7
Highland Lawn Cemetery, Terre Haute – 7
Forest Lawn Memory Gardens, Greenwood – 6
Out-of-State Burial Places of Fallen Officers
California – 1 • Illinois – 6 • Iowa – 1
Kansas – 1 • Kentucky – 5 • Michigan – 3 • Missouri – 1
New Jersey – 2 • Ohio – 2 • Tennessee – 2 • Virginia – 1
Ontario, Canada – 2 • England, United Kingdom – 1
