Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Jay Van Dusen suffered a fatal heart attack while responding to an emergency call involving a woman walking in the roadway in extremely cold weather conditions.
Following the heart attack, his patrol car struck a snowbank. He was located by other officers and transported to a local hospital where he died a short time later.
Patrolman Van Dusen was a United States Army Air Force WWII veteran who served with the Amherst Police Department for 18 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-8307B501- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Also honored at salute.nw. One record, 2 gates. Jay is one person.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Patrolman Van Dusen gave the Amherst Police Department 18 years.
Thank you for your service to the Amherst community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Van Dusen.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Jay R. Van Dusen served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.
Patrolman Jay R. Van Dusen is one of 1 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In NY, 99 of 2,147 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 4.6% of this state's fallen. That is 4.6 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Amherst Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Jay R. Van Dusen's cause is highlighted.
How Jay R. Van Dusen Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Jay R. Van Dusen is highlighted in Feb.
Military Service
Jay R. Van Dusen served in the United States military before joining law enforcement.
Visit Jay R. Van Dusen’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Amherst Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
