Paul Benedict Oatman
Agency patch
Officer

Paul Benedict Oatman

Accident
End of Watch May 12, 1967
Age 32
Tour of Duty 10 yrs
The Vigil Panel 102 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer Paul Oatman was killed in a motorcycle accident when a patrol car from another agency struck his tri-car at the intersection of Arsenal Street and Grand Boulevard. The other patrol car was transporting a child to the hospital at the time.

Survivors

Officer Oatman had been with the agency for ten years and was survived by his wife and four children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-24D4CCBF
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.
Officer Oatman gave the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the St. Louis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Oatman.

— 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 May 12, 1967
Tour of Duty 10 yrs
Age 32
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Officer Paul Benedict Oatman 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. Paul Benedict Oatman's cause is highlighted.

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

How Paul Benedict Oatman Compares

Age at Death
32
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
10
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Paul Benedict Oatman is highlighted in May.

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

Incident Location