Kathleen Schaefer
Agency patch
Police Officer

Kathleen Schaefer

Houston Police Department — Houston, TX
Accident
End of Watch August 18, 1982
Age 33
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
Badge 1872
The Vigil Panel 126 ›
Gender Female

Incident

Police Officer Kathleen C. Schaefer was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow officer while conducting a drug buy-bust for the Narcotics Unit at a convenience store in the 2500 block of West Bay Area Boulevard in Webster, Texas. She had just made a purchase and gave the signal a buy had been completed. Another officer mistook her for a suspect holding a gun and shot her once in the abdomen, fatally wounding her. Officer Schaefer had served with the Houston Police Department for three years. She was survived by her husband and two children. Her husband also served with the Houston Police Department.

Survivors

She was survived by her husband and two children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-ED82F059
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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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Police Officer Schaefer gave the Houston Police Department 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Houston community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Schaefer.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Houston, Harris County, TX
Platform Identity hpd.harris.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 18, 1982
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
Age 33
Badge Number 1872
Gender Female

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Police Officer Kathleen Schaefer is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In TX, 657 of 2,422 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27.1% of this state's fallen. That is 27.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Houston Police Department, 29 of 117 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.8% of this agency's fallen.

Houston Police Department
29
of 117 officers
24.8% Accident
TX — Statewide
657
of 2,422 officers
27.1% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Kathleen Schaefer's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Kathleen Schaefer Compares

Age at Death
33
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
3
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Kathleen Schaefer is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location