Edward O'Brien Pursell

Pensacola Police Department — Pensacola, FL

Cardiac Veteran

End of Watch August 12, 1944

Age 45

Tour of Duty 10 mo

The Vigil Panel 81 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 14

Incident

Police Officer Edward Pursell suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after struggling with a suspect he was attempting to arrest.

The subject resisted arrest after using offensive language directed towards the police department. About 15 minutes later Officer Pursell began to feel ill and was taken to a local hospital. He remained under an oxygen tent for two days until passing away.

Officer Pursell was a WWI veteran. He had served with the Pensacola Police Department for 10 months and had previously served as a civilian police officer for the Pensacola Naval Air Station.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, five children, sister, and three brothers.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-FL-459071C6
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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Police Officer Pursell served with the Pensacola Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Pensacola community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Department Pensacola Police Department

Location Pensacola, FL

Platform Identity ppd.escambia.fl.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 12, 1944

Tour of Duty 10 mo

Age 45

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac

Cause Detail Heart attack

Military Service

Edward O'Brien Pursell served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.

Police Officer Edward O'Brien Pursell 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 FL, 62 of 1,008 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 6.2% of this state's fallen. That is 2.2 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.

At Pensacola Police Department, 1 of 15 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 6.7% of this agency's fallen.

Pensacola Police Department

of 15 officers

6.7% Cardiac

FL — Statewide

of 1,008 officers

6.2% Cardiac

Nationwide

1,306

of 32,508 officers

4% Cardiac