Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Marcus Willis was accidentally shot and killed by another officer while attempting to arrest a man while off duty. He and his partner, Officer Smallwood, became involved in a traffic altercation at 4501 Benning Road, NE, and attempted to arrest the driver. A struggle ensued and Officer Smallwood struck the suspect on the head with his service revolver, causing the weapon to discharge. The discharged round struck Officer Willis in the head, killing him. Officer Willis had served with the Metropolitan Police Department for one year and was assigned to the Vice Squad at the Ninth Precinct.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and 6-week-old son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-DC-DCC98191- 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.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Marcus. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
You barely got started.
Officer Willis gave the Metropolitan Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Washington community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Willis.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Marcus Preston Willis 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 DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Metropolitan Police Department, 48 of 131 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 36.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Marcus Preston Willis's cause is highlighted.
How Marcus Preston Willis Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Marcus Preston Willis is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
130 officers from Metropolitan Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
