John F. Daley
Agency patch
Police Officer

John F. Daley

Hartford Police Department — Hartford, CT
Accident
End of Watch July 29, 1977
Age 29
Tour of Duty 7 yrs
Badge 203
The Vigil Panel 118 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer John Daley was accidentally shot and killed when his service weapon discharged accidentally at about 4:00 pm. The incident occurred as Officer Daley was taking cover at the scene of a call involving a man with a shotgun at 274 Lyme Street. His revolver discharged as he tripped on a curb. The round struck him in the torso, causing extensive internal injuries. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to the wound. Officer Daley had served with the Hartford Police Department for almost seven years.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and daughter.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CT-49DC9685
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 Daley gave the Hartford Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the Hartford community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Daley.

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

Agency

Location Hartford, CT
Platform Identity hpd.capitol.ct.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 29, 1977
Tour of Duty 7 yrs
Age 29
Badge Number 203
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Weapon discharged accidentally at about 4:00 pm.

Police Officer John F. Daley 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 CT, 73 of 169 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 43.2% of this state's fallen. That is 12.2 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Hartford Police Department, 2 of 8 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25% of this agency's fallen.

Hartford Police Department
2
of 8 officers
25% Accident
CT — Statewide
73
of 169 officers
43.2% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John F. Daley'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 John F. Daley Compares

Age at End of Watch
29
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
7
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John F. Daley is highlighted in Jul.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location