Douglas Wayne Bland
Agency patch
Senior Trooper

Douglas Wayne Bland

West Virginia State Police — South Charleston, WV
Accident
End of Watch January 19, 1999
Age 26
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
The Vigil Panel 145 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Trooper Bland was killed in a single-car accident while responding to another emergency call. When he failed to arrive at the accident scene, other officers began to search for him. Trooper Bland’s cruiser had overturned into a creek. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The roadways in the area were icy from a recent ice storm. There was also evidence that a deer had possibly crossed the cruiser’s path.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-WV-FAAA96F7
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.
Senior Trooper Bland gave the West Virginia State Police 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of West Virginia. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Senior Trooper Bland.

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

Agency

Type State Police
Location South Charleston, WV
Platform Identity wvsp.wv.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 19, 1999
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
Age 26
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Senior Trooper Douglas Wayne Bland 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 WV, 54 of 232 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.3% of this state's fallen. That is 23.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At West Virginia State Police, 20 of 42 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 47.6% of this agency's fallen.

West Virginia State Police
20
of 42 officers
47.6% Accident
WV — Statewide
54
of 232 officers
23.3% 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. Douglas Wayne Bland's cause is highlighted.

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

How Douglas Wayne Bland Compares

Age at Death
26
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
3
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Douglas Wayne Bland is highlighted in Jan.

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