Robert J. Harris
Agency patch
Sergeant

Robert J. Harris

Veteran → Accident
End of Watch May 17, 1978
Age 53
Tour of Duty 29 yrs
Badge 150
The Vigil Panel 120 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant Robert Harris was killed in a helicopter accident when the police helicopter he was piloting developed engine problems and crashed near the Southern State Parkway. When the helicopter began to experience an engine problem, Sergeant Harris declined an emergency landing at a school because children were nearby. The helicopter crashed as he attempted to locate an alternate location to land. Sergeant Harris was a United States Army WWII veteran and had served with the Nassau County Police Department for 29 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-6A8D59C0
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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Sergeant Harris gave the Nassau County Police Department 29 years.
Thank you for your service to the Mineola community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Mineola, Nassau County, NY
Platform Identity ncpd.nassau.ny.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 17, 1978
Tour of Duty 29 yrs
Age 53
Badge Number 150
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Robert J. Harris served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Sergeant Robert J. Harris is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.

In NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 30 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Nassau County Police Department, 21 of 51 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 41.2% of this agency's fallen.

Nassau County Police Department
21
of 51 officers
41.2% Accident
NY — Statewide
645
of 2,147 officers
30% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,759 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert J. Harris's cause is highlighted.

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

How Robert J. Harris Compares

Age at Death
53
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
29
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Robert J. Harris 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

Military Service

Robert J. Harris served in the United States military before joining law enforcement.

Visit Robert J. Harris’s page on salute.nw →

His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.