Linda G. Smith
Agency patch
Police Officer

Linda G. Smith

Detroit Police Department — Detroit, MI
Accident
End of Watch November 28, 1987
Age 29
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo
The Vigil Panel 132 ›
Gender Female

Incident

Police Officer Linda Smith succumbed to the injuries she received on November 10, 1987, when her patrol car was struck by a newspaper delivery truck. Officer Smith and her partner were assisting other officers during a pursuit of two suspected car thieves at 3:30 a.m. when their car was hit at Lonyo Avenue and Michigan Avenue and burst into flames. Both were pinned inside. Responding officers pulled them from the car and rushed them to the burn center at Detroit Receiving Hospital, where she died from her wounds 18 days later. Her partner survived. Officer Smith had served with the Detroit Police Department for over one year.

Survivors

She was survived by her mother and brother.

In Our Keeping

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Stewardship
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Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

You barely got started.
Police Officer Smith gave the Detroit Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Smith.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Detroit, Wayne County, MI
Platform Identity detpd.wayne.mi.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 28, 1987
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo
Age 29
Gender Female

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Weapon Automobile

The Sacrifice · Accident

Linda is one of 8,275 officers lost to accidents in the United States, 30% of the 27,551 remembered there.

34,117 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
  2. See the roll
Compare against
I

Time

In 1987, 76 officers in the United States were lost to accidents, the 35th heaviest of 174 years on record. The heaviest was 1929, with 118.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Linda was 29. Of the 7,718 lost to accidents in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 29 and 46; the middle age was 36. Linda had served 1.5 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

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

When

November holds 8.4% of these deaths in the United States; August holds the most, 9.5%. Saturdays: 14.9%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Accident deaths account for 30% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the 2nd most common cause. The weapon recorded was automobile, in 6.9% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

Her people

Detroit Police Department has at least 120 officers remembered here, Linda among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Police Officer Linda G. Smith

Detroit Police Department · End of Watch November 28, 1987

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 26-E

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