Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Doc Lanham suffered a fatal heart attack after the conclusion of a high-speed pursuit on Illinois Route 9 about 15 miles east of Bloomington.
He and another deputy were assisting two Gibson City police officers who had been pursuing a vehicle at a high rate of speed in a heavy rain as they approached Arrowsmith. The other deputy fired his pistol and shotgun at the fleeing vehicle before its driver stopped near Cooksville. Deputy Lanham collapsed just after the driver had been placed under arrest. He was transported to Mennonite Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The juvenile suspect, who was on probation, was charged with reckless driving, driving without a license, fleeing police, and a curfew violation.
Deputy Lanham had served with the McLean County Sheriff's Office for 1½ years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, son, four daughters, 15 grandchildren, great-grandchild, mother, and four brothers.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-03B7E41D- 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.
Deputy Sheriff Lanham gave the McLean County Sheriff's Office 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Bloomington community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Lanham.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Clarence D. "Doc" Lanham 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 IL, 45 of 1,318 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 3.4% of this state's fallen. That is 0.6 percentage points below the national rate of 4%.
At McLean County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 5 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 20% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Clarence D. "Doc" Lanham's cause is highlighted.
How Clarence D. "Doc" Lanham Compares
Offender Outcome
Charged
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Clarence D. "Doc" Lanham is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
4 officers from McLean County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
