Isiah Nelson, III
Agency patch
Commander

Isiah Nelson, III

San Francisco Police Department — San Francisco, CA
Accident
End of Watch April 14, 1990
Age 36
Tour of Duty 19 yrs
Badge 869
The Vigil Panel 135 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Commander Isiah Nelson was killed when his motorcycle struck a concrete barrier on Interstate 280 while returning from a security detail at Candlestick Park.

Commander Nelson had served with the San Francisco Police Department for 19 years.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and two sons.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-B94321AB
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 never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Commander Nelson gave the San Francisco Police Department 19 years.
Thank you for your service to the San Francisco community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Commander Nelson.

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

Agency

Location San Francisco, CA
Platform Identity sfpd.sf.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 14, 1990
Tour of Duty 19 yrs
Age 36
Badge Number 869
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Commander Isiah Nelson, III is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At San Francisco Police Department, 35 of 106 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33% of this agency's fallen.

San Francisco Police Department
35
of 106 officers
33% Accident
CA — Statewide
719
of 1,837 officers
39.1% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Isiah Nelson, III'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 Isiah Nelson, III Compares

Age at End of Watch
36
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
19
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Isiah Nelson, III is highlighted in Apr.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897