Joe V. Graham
Officer

Joe V. Graham

Fort Worth Police Dept. — Fort Worth, TX
Illness
End of Watch May 10, 1935
Age 38
Tour of Duty 9 yrs
The Vigil Panel 69 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Graham died from an infection as a result of being bitten on the finger while making an arrest 6 weeks earlier. Officer Graham was on his way home when he was involved in a car accident at 25th Street and Market Street. He noticed that the other driver was intoxicated and told the man he was under arrest. The man began to resist and bit Officer Graham on the tip of his right middle finger. Officer Graham was able to complete the arrest.

The finger began to swell and he was admitted to the hospital on April 11. He was admitted into emergency surgery and had the finger amputated. The surgery failed to stop the infection and he was admitted to the hospital again. He died as a result of the infection on May 10.

Officer Graham had served with the Fort Worth Police Department for 9 years. He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Rest in peace Officer Graham.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis May 9th, 2019

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-33AABD43
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.
Officer Graham gave the Fort Worth Police Department 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Fort Worth community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Graham.

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

Agency

Location Fort Worth, TX
Platform Identity fwpd.tarrant.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 10, 1935
Tour of Duty 9 yrs
Age 38
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Cause Detail Duty related illness

Officer Joe V. Graham is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In TX, 204 of 2,421 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 8.4% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.

At Fort Worth Police Dept., 4 of 59 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 6.8% of this agency's fallen.

Fort Worth Police Dept.
4
of 59 officers
6.8% Illness
TX — Statewide
204
of 2,421 officers
8.4% Illness
Nationwide
2,974
of 32,508 officers
9.1% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joe V. Graham'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 Joe V. Graham Compares

Age at End of Watch
38
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
9
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.9 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Joe V. Graham is highlighted in May.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
185
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
181
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
291
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285