Roll of Honor
Francis Duon Hemilright
Incident
Patrolman Francis Hemilright died after suffering a heart attack as he responded to a large fight at an area bar.
Patrolman Hemilright and approximately 25 officers from neighboring agencies responded to a night club where approximately 200 people were involved in the fight. After checking the scene, Patrolman Hemilright was found slumped over in his cruiser. Officers from a neighboring agency attempted to revive him using a defibrillator the officers carry in their cruisers. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Patrolman Hemilright had been in law enforcement in the Outer Banks area for over 20 years.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-0A2FDBD0- 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
20 years. You could have gone home.
Patrolman Hemilright gave the Southern Shores Police Department 20 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Southern Shores community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Hemilright.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Francis Duon Hemilright served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.
Patrolman Francis Duon Hemilright is one of 1 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In NC, 33 of 664 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5% of this state's fallen. That is 5 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Francis Duon Hemilright's cause is highlighted.
How Francis Duon Hemilright Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Francis Duon Hemilright is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Military Service
Francis Duon Hemilright served in the United States military before joining law enforcement.
Visit Francis Duon Hemilright’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
0 officers from Southern Shores Police Department are honored on badge.nw.