Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer James Bossen was killed while piloting a small aircraft in which he and a private guard were transporting two prisoners for the Indiana Department of Correction. The aircraft crashed into the side of Sugar Loaf Ridge in heavy fog, killing all persons aboard. The crash occurred in a rural area of Lamsburg, Carroll County, Virginia, approximately four miles from the Virginia and North Carolina state line. Officer Bossen had served with the Indianapolis Airport Police Department for one year and had previously served with the Marion County Sheriff's Department in Indiana for 12-½ years after returning from a tour of combat duty in the Vietnam War.
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BO-US-IN-3C2FB4AC- Stewardship
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- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 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.
Officer Bossen gave the Indianapolis Airport Authority Police Department 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the Indianapolis 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
Incident Details
Military Service
James Douglas Bossen served in the U.S. Army (1964â1967) before joining law enforcement.
Officer James Douglas Bossen is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.
In IN, 152 of 504 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.2% of this state's fallen. That is 30.2 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Douglas Bossen's cause is highlighted.
How James Douglas Bossen Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James Douglas Bossen is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Military Service
James Douglas Bossen served in the U.S. Army (1964–1967) before joining law enforcement.
Visit James Douglas Bossen’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 Indianapolis Airport Authority Police Department are honored on badge.nw.