Kenneth William Hayden
Agency patch
Sergeant

Kenneth William Hayden

Fort Wayne Police Department — Fort Wayne, IN
Accident
End of Watch September 12, 1989
Age 41
Tour of Duty 16 yrs
The Vigil Panel 135 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant Kenneth Hayden succumbed to complications of an accidental gunshot wound sustained 15 years earlier while responding to a robbery in progress.

Sergeant Hayden had served with the Fort Wayne Police Department for 16 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and four sons.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IN-5841E0EA
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.
Sergeant Hayden gave the Fort Wayne Police Department 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Fort Wayne community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Hayden.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Fort Wayne, Allen County, IN
Platform Identity fwpd.allen.in.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 12, 1989
Tour of Duty 16 yrs
Age 41
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Gunfire (Inadvertent)

Sergeant Kenneth William Hayden 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 IN, 151 of 503 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 30 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

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

Fort Wayne Police Department
3
of 6 officers
50% Accident
IN — Statewide
151
of 503 officers
30% 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. Kenneth William Hayden's cause is highlighted.

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

How Kenneth William Hayden Compares

Age at Death
41
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
16
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Kenneth William Hayden is highlighted in Sep.

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