Douglas Chamblin
Agency patch
Detective

Douglas Chamblin

Accident
End of Watch October 14, 1927
Age 36
Tour of Duty 7 yrs
The Vigil Panel 54 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Detective Douglas Chamblin and Detective Sergeant Edward Schaaf were killed when a portion of a building collapsed on them at Easton and Prairie Avenues during a tornado. The officers were on patrol when they saw the tornado forming and attempted to take cover. As they were trying to get under the rear of their car the building collapsed crushing both of them. Detective Sergeant was killed at the scene and Detective Chamblin succumbed to his injuries 15 days later. More than 70 people were killed as a result of the storm.

Survivors

Detective Chamblin had been with the agency for seven years and was survived by his wife and four children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-B1F5FEB7
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

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Detective Chamblin gave the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the St. Louis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Chamblin.

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

Agency

Location St. Louis, MO
Platform Identity stlopd.saintlouis.mo.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 14, 1927
Tour of Duty 7 yrs
Age 36
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Detective Douglas Chamblin 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 MO, 237 of 813 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.2% of this state's fallen. That is 1.8 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

At St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, 56 of 176 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.8% of this agency's fallen.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
56
of 176 officers
31.8% Accident
MO — Statewide
237
of 813 officers
29.2% 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. Douglas Chamblin'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 Douglas Chamblin Compares

Age at End of Watch
36
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
7
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Douglas Chamblin is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location