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Patrolman

Albert James Breisinger, Jr.

Pleasant Hills Borough Police Department — Pittsburgh, PA

Accident

End of Watch September 12, 1979

Age 23

Tour of Duty 1 yrs 3 mo

The Vigil Panel 122 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice

Incident

Patrolman Albert Breisinger died after attempting to rescue two boys from a sinkhole at Jefferson Memorial Cemetery. Patrolman Breisinger was the first officer on the scene and discovered the bodies of the two boys inside the hole. When Patrolman Breisinger went into the shaft to attempt a rescue the oxygen in the sinkhole was depleted to the point it could no longer support human or animal life. Undetectable, rapid unconsciousness occurred in seconds, and boys and Patrolman Breisinger didn't have enough oxygen to survive. Patrolman Breisinger was hospitalized for several days but never regained consciousness. He had served with the Pleasant Hills Borough Police Department for 15 months.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-PA-DC7349DB
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: April 2, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

You barely got started.
Patrolman Breisinger gave the Pleasant Hills Borough Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Pittsburgh community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Breisinger.

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

Agency

Department Pleasant Hills Borough Police Department

Location Pittsburgh, PA

Platform Identity phbpd.allegheny.pa.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 12, 1979

Tour of Duty 1 yrs 3 mo

Age 23

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Patrolman Albert James Breisinger, Jr. is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In PA, 417 of 1,261 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.1% of this state's fallen. That is 2.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

Pleasant Hills Borough Police Department

of 1 officers

100% Accident

PA — Statewide

417

of 1,261 officers

33.1% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers

31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Albert James Breisinger, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

Felonious

17,623 (54.2%)

Accident

10,088 (31%)

Illness

2,974 (9.1%)

Cardiac

1,306 (4%)

Undetermined

260 (0.8%)

Suicide

256 (0.8%)

vehicular

1 (0%)

How Albert James Breisinger, Jr. Compares

Age at End of Watch

This officer

Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

Years of Service

1.2