Floyd Horton
Agency patch
Lieutenant

Floyd Horton

Felonious
End of Watch December 16, 1920
Age 43
Tour of Duty 25 yrs
Badge No
The Vigil Panel 40 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Lieutenant Floyd Horton died of a gunshot wound he received when he attempted to arrest a suspect who had just robbed a man. Lieutenant Horton was off duty and walking home when he heard a man yelling, "Police! Stop, thief!" Lieutenant Horton ran to the location and was told that two men had just held up an elevator operator inside 540 West 146 Street, Manhattan. The suspects were escaping in an automobile, so Lieutenant Horton jumped onto the running board of a taxi to catch up to the suspects. The suspects fired at Lieutenant Horton, and he returned fire. Lieutenant Horton jumped onto the running board of the suspects' vehicle and exchanged several shots with them before he was struck in the chest and fell to the street at the intersection of Broadway and 146th Street. As the vehicle fled, Lieutenant Horton was able to write down the license plate number. He was removed to the hospital, where he died a few hours later. One suspect was found dead from his wounds later in the day by a patrolman. Detectives were able to locate the escape vehicle and arrested the second suspect. A witness identified the second suspect as the man who fired the fatal shots at Lieutenant Horton. He was charged with murder and later convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life. Lieutenant Horton had served as a police officer for 25 years, starting his career with the Brooklyn Police Department and later serving with New York City Police Department after the two departments were consolidated. He was assigned to the 40th Precinct, the modern-day 30th Precinct.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and several children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-86B4EB39
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

25 years. You could have gone home.
Lieutenant Horton gave the New York City Police Department 25 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Lieutenant Horton.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location New York, NY
Platform Identity nypd.newyork.ny.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 16, 1920
Tour of Duty 25 yrs
Age 43
Badge Number No
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

Lieutenant Floyd Horton is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In NY, 728 of 2,147 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 33.9% of this state's fallen. That is 33.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At New York City Police Department, 365 of 1237 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 29.5% of this agency's fallen.

New York City Police Department
365
of 1,237 officers
29.5% Felonious
NY — Statewide
728
of 2,147 officers
33.9% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Floyd Horton's cause is highlighted.

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

How Floyd Horton Compares

Age at Death
43
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
25
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Floyd Horton is highlighted in Dec.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Floyd Horton was killed by gun.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909

Incident Location