Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant James Graves succumbed to injuries sustained in an automobile crash two months earlier when his patrol car was struck by another vehicle while responding to a fire alarm call.
He and another officer were responding to the call when a vehicle pulled out in front of their patrol car causing it to roll over twice on Ellison Street near Paterson Street. Both officers were taken to the General Hospital with serious injuries. Sergeant Graves was recovering when he suffered a relapse and contracted pneumonia. He succumbed complications of his injuries less than three months after the crash.
His partner was still hospitalized and unable to return to duty at the time of Sergeant Graves' passing.
Sergeant Graves had served with the Paterson Police Department for 19-1/2 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, daughter, and siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-AC003C79- 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.
Sergeant Graves gave the Paterson Police Department 19 years.
Thank you for your service to the Paterson community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Graves.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant James H. Graves 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 NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 8.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Paterson Police Department, 3 of 11 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James H. Graves's cause is highlighted.
How James H. Graves Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James H. Graves is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
10 officers from Paterson Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
