Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Morty Ford died as the result of contracting Hepatitis C during a blood transfusion after being shot in the line of duty.
On November 26, 1974, Sergeant Ford and several other officers had responded to a robbery in progress at a state-owned ABC store on North St. Asaph Street. As they arrived at the scene Sergeant Ford observed two men get into a car in an adjacent parking lot on Montgomery Street. As the patrol car pulled into the parking lot the men in the car immediately opened fire on the officers.
Sergeant Ford rammed the vehicle as it attempted to flee and then returned fire. He was struck in the chest during the ensuing shootout. One of the suspects was fatally wounded and two others were taken into custody. Sergeant Ford underwent several blood transfusions following the surgery. It was later determined that he received infected blood during one of the transfusions. His health continued to deteriorate until he passed away in 2011.
Sergeant Ford had served with the Alexandria Police Department for 26 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his brother and two sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-VA-0A1121C8- 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.
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Tributes
26 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Ford gave the Alexandria Police Department 26 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Alexandria community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Ford.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant Morton "Morty" Ford is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In VA, 23 of 654 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.5% of this state's fallen. That is 5.6 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Alexandria Police Department, 1 of 17 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 5.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Morton "Morty" Ford's cause is highlighted.
How Morton "Morty" Ford Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Morton "Morty" Ford is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
16 officers from Alexandria Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
