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William H. DeGive
Agency patch
Detective

William H. DeGive

New York City Police Department — New York, NY
Felonious
United States flag New York flag
End of Watch June 28, 1931
Age 24
Badge 1187
The Vigil Panel 62 ›
Gender Male
Incident Media Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 1,221

Incident

William H. DeGive joined the New York City Police Department around 1929 and was first assigned to the 28th Precinct. On 3 June 1930 he was promoted to detective third grade and sent to the 18th Detective Division, where he worked undercover as part of the Police Commissioner's special squad.

At about ten on the night of 3 March 1931, he was sitting in a car near 125th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem with Joseph Franco, whom he had just arrested at a dance hall on a charge of attempted extortion. Franco's accomplice, 21-year-old Joseph Emanuel, crept up beside the car and opened fire. Detective DeGive fired back and wounded him, and Emanuel was arrested when he turned up at a hospital for treatment.

Detective DeGive never recovered. He died of his wounds on 28 June 1931, aged 24. He lived at 987 Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side. In May 1932 he was posthumously awarded the department's Medal of Honor, and that November Emanuel was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to thirty years in Sing Sing.

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August 2, 2026

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Detective DeGive served with the New York City Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective DeGive.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department New York City Police Department
Type Police Department
Location New York, NY
Platform Identity nypd.newyork.ny.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch June 28, 1931
Age 24
Badge Number 1187
Gender Male
Assignment 18 Detective Division

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

William is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

33,917 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

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Compare against
I

Time

In 1931, 221 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 5th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

William was 24. Of the 14,220 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

June holds 8.1% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Sundays: 15.2%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was gun, in 22.8% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

New York City Police Department has at least 120 officers remembered here, William among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Detective William H. DeGive

New York City Police Department · End of Watch June 28, 1931

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 10-W

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