Incident
Officer Mortimer Donoghue was killed in an automobile crash when the prisoner transport wagon he was riding struck another automobile at 5th Street and K Street, NW. The wagon entered an intersection where the traffic signals were not working. Officer Donoghue was riding in the back of the wagon and was ejected from it upon impact. Officer Donoghue was a United States Army WWI veteran and had served with the Metropolitan Police Department for 29 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-DC-4E0D6564- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Officer Donoghue gave the Metropolitan Police Department 29 years.
Thank you for your service to the Washington community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Mortimer P. Donoghue served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.
Officer Mortimer P. Donoghue is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 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 32 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
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. Mortimer P. Donoghue's cause is highlighted.
How Mortimer P. Donoghue Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Mortimer P. Donoghue is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Military Service
Mortimer P. Donoghue served in the United States military before joining law enforcement.
Visit Mortimer P. Donoghue’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
130 officers from Metropolitan Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.















