Mathew Montgomery Beacham Jr.
Agency patch
Police Officer

Mathew Montgomery Beacham Jr.

Greenville Police Department — Greenville, SC
Cardiac
End of Watch September 20, 1983
Age 40
Tour of Duty 16 yrs
The Vigil Panel 127 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer Mathew Beacham suffered a fatal heart attack during a foot pursuit.

He was working the front desk at the police station when a juvenile car theft suspect escaped and attempted to flee. Officer Beacham suffered the heart attack as he chased the youth.

Officer Beacham had served with the Greenville Police Department for 16 years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-SC-43415865
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 Beacham gave the Greenville Police Department 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Greenville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Beacham.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Greenville, Greenville County, SC
Platform Identity greenvillepd.greenville.sc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 20, 1983
Tour of Duty 16 yrs
Age 40
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac
Weapon Person

Police Officer Mathew Montgomery Beacham Jr. is one of 1 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In SC, 20 of 441 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 4.5% of this state's fallen. That is 4.5 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Greenville Police Department, 1 of 12 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 8.3% of this agency's fallen.

Greenville Police Department
1
of 12 officers
8.3% Cardiac
SC — Statewide
20
of 441 officers
4.5% Cardiac
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Cardiac

National Cause Distribution

How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Mathew Montgomery Beacham Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

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

How Mathew Montgomery Beacham Jr. Compares

Age at Death
40
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
16
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Mathew Montgomery Beacham Jr. is highlighted in Sep.

Jan
124
Feb
105
Mar
99
Apr
116
May
115
Jun
95
Jul
94
Aug
104
Sep
109
Oct
121
Nov
113
Dec
111

Incident Location