Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer O'Riley was killed while transporting a prisoner on the Coastal Highway just south of Savannah. The prisoner grabbed the steering wheel causing the truck they were in to crash into a tree. Officer O'Riley was killed and the prisoner was seriously injured. Officer O'Riley had served with the agency for 16 years.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-5118DE3C- 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 O'Riley gave the Chatham County Police Department 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Savannah community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer O'Riley.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer John J. O'Riley 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 GA, 263 of 903 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.1% of this state's fallen. That is 1.9 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Chatham County Police Department, 5 of 11 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 45.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John J. O'Riley's cause is highlighted.
How John J. O'Riley Compares
Offender Outcome
Not available
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John J. O'Riley is highlighted in Oct.
Others Who Wore This Badge
10 officers from Chatham County Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
