Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief Robert Kappenburg succumbed to injuries sustained 19 days earlier when he was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic on Main Street. On Tuesday, September 19, 1916, he was directing traffic on Main Street near Bissell Street when he tried to divert a motorist driving on the wrong side of Main Street. While trying to redirect the errant vehicle, he was struck in the back by a second car. Chief Kappenberg was taken to Hartford Hospital where he died on Sunday, October 8, 1916. Chief Kappenberg had served with the East Hartford Police Department for 19 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CT-F3E2B054- 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.
Chief of Police Kappenburg gave the East Hartford Police Department 19 years.
Thank you for your service to the East Hartford community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Kappenburg.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Robert W. Kappenburg 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 CT, 73 of 169 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 43.2% of this state's fallen. That is 12.2 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At East Hartford Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert W. Kappenburg's cause is highlighted.
How Robert W. Kappenburg Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Robert W. Kappenburg is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from East Hartford Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
