Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Ralph Thomas was killed in an accident while reloading pistol ammunition in the police department's basement.
While compressing the reloading die, the powder in the cartridge case ignited, causing the die to impale Patrolman Thomas, killing him.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AL-80E6A002- 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
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Patrolman Thomas served with the Homewood Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Homewood community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Thomas.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Ralph B. Thomas is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In AL, 182 of 643 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.3% of this state's fallen. That is 2.7 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Homewood Police Department, 2 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ralph B. Thomas's cause is highlighted.
How Ralph B. Thomas Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Ralph B. Thomas is highlighted in Oct.
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Homewood Police Department are honored on badge.nw.