Richard Zeff
Agency patch
Special Deputy Marshal

Richard Zeff

Accident
End of Watch July 6, 1894
Age 45
Tour of Duty
The Vigil Panel 12 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Special Deputy Marshal Richard Zeff was accidentally shot and killed in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Grand Central Station in Chicago, Illinois.

He had been deputized by the United States Marshals Service and brought to Chicago from Baltimore, Maryland, to assist with a railroad worker's strike. He was attending a briefing in Room 407 with other special deputies and railroad detectives when a riot gun that was propped against a wall fell over. The gun discharged when it struck a radiator. Special Deputy Marshal Zeff was struck in the chest and was killed. A second officer suffered a non-fatal wound to the face.

Special Deputy Zeff was survived by his wife and six children.

Survivors

Special Deputy Zeff was survived by his wife and six children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-5FEEE68F
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

132 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Special Deputy Marshal Zeff served with the United States Department of Justice.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Type Federal Agency
Location Washington, DC
Platform Identity usms.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 6, 1894
Tour of Duty
Age 45
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Special Deputy Marshal Richard Zeff 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 DC, 453 of 1,418 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 31.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At United States Department of Justice - United States Marshals Service, 43 of 313 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 13.7% of this agency's fallen.

United States Department of Justice - United States Marshals Service
43
of 313 officers
13.7% Accident
DC — Statewide
453
of 1,418 officers
31.9% 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. Richard Zeff's cause is highlighted.

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

How Richard Zeff Compares

Age at Death
45
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
0
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Richard Zeff is highlighted in Jul.

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