Jaison Howard Smith
Police Officer

Jaison Howard Smith

Washington Police Dept. — Washington, GA
Cardiac
End of Watch December 24, 2000
Age 33
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
The Vigil Panel 147 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Smith had a fatal heart attack while pursuing two suspects on foot. Officer Smith pursued the suspect for approximately two miles before back-up and K-9 officers arrived. Officer Smith ran back to his car and drove toward the search party but did not exit his vehicle. Fellow Officers noticed Officer Smith slumped over the steering wheel of his cruiser and requested emergency help immediately. Officer Smith was pronounced dead one hour later after arrival at the local hospital.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-A5B3765A
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.
Police Officer Smith gave the Washington Police Department 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the Washington community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Smith.

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

Agency

Location Washington, GA
Platform Identity wpd.wilkes.ga.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 24, 2000
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
Age 33
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac

Police Officer Jaison Howard Smith 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 GA, 23 of 903 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 2.5% of this state's fallen. That is 1.5 percentage points below the national rate of 4%.

At Washington Police Dept., 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.

Washington Police Dept.
1
of 2 officers
50% Cardiac
GA — Statewide
23
of 903 officers
2.5% 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. Jaison Howard Smith'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 Jaison Howard Smith Compares

Age at End of Watch
33
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
11
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Jaison Howard Smith is highlighted in Dec.

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

Others Who Wore This Badge

1 officer from Washington Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw.