His Life
Sergeant Francis Yates suffered a fatal heart attack while supervising prisoners at the Charles County Courthouse at 200 Charles Street in La Plata. Sergeant Yates was a United States Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran and served with the Charles County Sheriff's Office for 19 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MD-C1CF2840- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 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.
Sergeant Yates gave the Charles County Sheriff's Office 19 years.
Thank you for your service to the La Plata community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
His Life Details
Military Service
Francis Leo Yates served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.
Sergeant Francis Leo Yates 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 32,586 officers honored here.
In MD, 22 of 377 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5.8% of this state's fallen. That is 1.8 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Charles County Sheriff's Office, 2 of 6 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Francis Leo Yates's cause is highlighted.
How Francis Leo Yates Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Francis Leo Yates is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Military Service
Francis Leo Yates served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.
Visit Francis Leo Yates’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from Charles County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.




