Michael Burke
Agency patch
Police Officer

Michael Burke

Accident
End of Watch December 13, 1901
Age 40
Tour of Duty 14 yrs
The Vigil Panel 17 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Michael Burke succumbed to injuries sustained 14 months earlier when he was electrocuted by a police call box.

The police department's call box system had experienced a system-wide short circuit. When Officer Burke inserted his key into the call box he was electrocuted.

Officer Nicholas Beckman and Officer John Looney were also electrocuted and 13 other officers were injured as a result of the short circuit.

Officer Burke had served with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for 14 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and five children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-511C9F7C
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 Burke gave the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department 14 years.
Thank you for your service to the St. Louis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Burke.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location St. Louis, MO
Platform Identity stlopd.saintlouis.mo.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 13, 1901
Tour of Duty 14 yrs
Age 40
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Electrocuted

Police Officer Michael Burke 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 MO, 237 of 813 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.2% of this state's fallen. That is 29.2 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, 56 of 176 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.8% of this agency's fallen.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
56
of 176 officers
31.8% Accident
MO — Statewide
237
of 813 officers
29.2% 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. Michael Burke's cause is highlighted.

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

How Michael Burke Compares

Age at Death
40
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
14
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Michael Burke is highlighted in Dec.

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