Roll of Honor

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Police Officer

Joseph Howard Tomlinson Jr.

Murfreesboro Police Department — Murfreesboro, TN

Veteran → Accident

End of Watch October 28, 1999

Age 48

Tour of Duty 7 yrs

The Vigil Panel 146 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Military Department 5

Incident

Police Officer Butch Tomlinson was killed in an automobile crash involving an ambulance on Church Street at 9:43 a.m.

Officer Tomlinson was running radar when his patrol car was struck on the driver's side by the ambulance while he was making a U-turn.

Officer Tomlinson was a United States Navy veteran who had served with the Murfreesboro Police Department for five years and previously served with the Sommerville (South Carolina) Police Department.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, two daughters, parents, two sisters, and three grandchildren.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-TN-AAE30838
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 — U.S. Navy. One record, 2 gates. Joseph is one person.

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Tributes

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Police Officer Tomlinson gave the Murfreesboro Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the Murfreesboro community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Department Murfreesboro Police Department

Type Police Department

Location Murfreesboro, Rutherford County, TN

Platform Identity mpd.rutherford.tn.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 28, 1999

Tour of Duty 7 yrs

Age 48

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Joseph Howard Tomlinson Jr. served in the U.S. Navy (1969â1973) before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Police Officer Joseph Howard Tomlinson Jr. is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.

In TN, 191 of 769 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.8% of this state's fallen. That is 24.8 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Murfreesboro Police Department, 3 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.

Murfreesboro Police Department

of 6 officers

50% Accident

TN — Statewide

191

of 769 officers

24.8% Accident

Nationwide

of 97,759 officers

0% Accident