Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Charles Knowles suffered a fatal heart attack when he was kicked in the chest during a struggle on Route 1.
He and another officer attempted to arrest a driver who was impaired. After placing the driver in the patrol vehicle, the female subject kicked him in the chest, triggering a heart attack. Chief Knowles was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver was charged with driving while intoxicated, and the female was charged with assault and battery.
Chief Knowles had been chief for two years and had served with the Seabrook Police Department for 30 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NH-FBCCDE76- 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
30 years. You could have gone home.
Chief of Police Knowles gave the Seabrook Police Department 30 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Seabrook community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Knowles.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Charles S. B. Knowles is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NH, 14 of 59 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 23.7% of this state's fallen. That is 19.7 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Charles S. B. Knowles's cause is highlighted.
How Charles S. B. Knowles Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Charles S. B. Knowles is highlighted in Aug.