Elijah James "Eli" Cass
Agency patch
Patrolman

Elijah James "Eli" Cass

Big Spring Police Department — Big Spring, TX
Cardiac
End of Watch November 6, 1940
Age 40
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo
The Vigil Panel 77 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman Cass suffered a fatal heart attack following a foot pursuit through the rail yards. Patrolman Cass had responded to a shoplifting and arrived as the suspects fled. He chased the men into the rail yards where he caught one of the men. As he walked the man to his patrol car he collapsed.

Survivors

Patrolman Cass had been with the agency for 18 months and was survived by his wife and four children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-3B42243D
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.
Patrolman Cass gave the Big Spring Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Big Spring community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Cass.

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

Agency

Location Big Spring, TX
Platform Identity bspd.howard.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 6, 1940
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo
Age 40
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac

Patrolman Elijah James "Eli" Cass 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 TX, 88 of 2,421 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 3.6% of this state's fallen.

At Big Spring Police Department, 1 of 4 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 25% of this agency's fallen.

Big Spring Police Department
1
of 4 officers
25% Cardiac
TX — Statewide
88
of 2,421 officers
3.6% Cardiac
Nationwide
1,306
of 32,508 officers
4% Cardiac

National Cause Distribution

How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Elijah James "Eli" Cass'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 Elijah James "Eli" Cass Compares

Age at End of Watch
40
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
1.5
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Elijah James "Eli" Cass is highlighted in Nov.

Jan
124
Feb
105
Mar
99
Apr
116
May
115
Jun
95
Jul
94
Aug
104
Sep
109
Oct
121
Nov
113
Dec
111