R. E. Lawrence
Agency patch
Chief of Police

R. E. Lawrence

Mount Airy Police Department — Mount Airy, NC
Cardiac
End of Watch October 27, 1941
Age 51
Tour of Duty 21 yrs
Badge CHIEF
The Vigil Panel 78 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Chief Lawrence suffered a fatal heart attack while on duty. Chief Lawrence had served as chief of the agency for 21 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and son.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-043FBC60
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

21 years. You could have gone home.
Chief of Police Lawrence gave the Mount Airy Police Department 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Mount Airy community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Lawrence.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Mount Airy, Surry County, NC
Platform Identity mapd.surry.nc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 27, 1941
Tour of Duty 21 yrs
Age 51
Badge Number CHIEF
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac

Chief of Police R. E. Lawrence 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 NC, 33 of 664 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5% of this state's fallen. That is 5 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Mount Airy Police Department, 1 of 3 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.

Mount Airy Police Department
1
of 3 officers
33.3% Cardiac
NC — Statewide
33
of 664 officers
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. R. E. Lawrence's cause is highlighted.

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

How R. E. Lawrence Compares

Age at Death
51
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
21
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. R. E. Lawrence is highlighted in Oct.

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

Others Who Wore This Badge

2 officers from Mount Airy Police Department are honored on badge.nw.