David Michael Goddard
Deputy Sheriff

David Michael Goddard

Polk County Sheriff's Department — Winter Haven, FL
Accident
End of Watch February 2, 1989
Age 34
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
The Vigil Panel 134 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Sheriff David Goddard was killed in an automobile accident on Airport Road when his patrol car struck a pickup truck. The pickup truck was traveling with no tail lights on a dark stretch of at 2:00 am. Deputy Goddard was survived by his wife and three children. His wife also served as a Polk County deputy sheriff at the time of the accident.

Survivors

Deputy Goddard was survived by his wife and three children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FL-4A4A2A23
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Goddard gave the Polk County Sheriff's Office 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Winter Haven community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Goddard.

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

Agency

Type Other
Location Winter Haven, Polk County, FL
Platform Identity pcso.polk.fl.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 2, 1989
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
Age 34
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Deputy Sheriff David Michael Goddard is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In FL, 313 of 1,008 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.1% of this state's fallen. That is 31.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Polk County Sheriff's Department, 9 of 18 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.

Polk County Sheriff's Department
9
of 18 officers
50% Accident
FL — Statewide
313
of 1,008 officers
31.1% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. David Michael Goddard's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How David Michael Goddard Compares

Age at Death
34
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
8
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. David Michael Goddard is highlighted in Feb.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897