Roll of Honor

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Sheriff

Joseph E. Branscomb

DeKalb County Sheriff's Office — Maysville, MO

Felonious

End of Watch July 31, 1865

Age 48

The Vigil Panel 3 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 1

Incident

Sheriff Joseph Branscomb was shot and killed by an inmate who had previously been arrested and had been released. Sheriff Branscomb's son arrested the suspect in February of 1877.

Survivors

Sheriff Branscomb was survived by his wife and 12 children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-MO-D4582CF5
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

161 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Sheriff Branscomb served with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Maysville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Department DeKalb County Sheriff's Office

Location Maysville, MO

Platform Identity dcso.dekalb.mo.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 31, 1865

Age 48

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Gun; Unknown type

Offender Not available

Sheriff Joseph E. Branscomb is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In MO, 516 of 813 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 63.5% of this state's fallen. That is 9.3 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 2 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.

DeKalb County Sheriff's Office

of 2 officers

50% Felonious

MO — Statewide

516

of 813 officers

63.5% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joseph E. Branscomb'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 Joseph E. Branscomb Compares

Age at End of Watch

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

Offender Outcome

Not available

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph E. Branscomb is highlighted in Jul.

Jan

1,392

Feb

1,295

Mar

1,373

Apr

1,517

May

1,505

Jun

1,443

Jul

1,587

Aug

1,516

Sep

1,553

Oct

1,371

Nov

1,447

Dec

1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Joseph E. Branscomb was killed by gun; unknown type.

Gun; Unknown type

5,083

Handgun

2,077

Shotgun

922

Officer's handgun

909

Automobile; Alcohol involved

530

Rifle

518

Others Who Wore This Badge

1 officer from DeKalb County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.