Ronald Owen MacDonald

Michigan Department of Corrections — Lansing, MI

Accident

End of Watch July 8, 2001

Age 40

Tour of Duty 12 yrs

The Vigil Panel 148 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 14

Incident

Correctional Officer Ronald MacDonald succumbed to injuries sustained six months earlier when he fell from a ladder at Camp Ottawa.

He was supervising a prison work crew that was cleaning snow off of a rooftop in the prison compound. As Officer MacDonald stepped from the ladder to the roof, the ladder slipped, and he fell 20 feet to the ground. He was transported to a local hospital where he remained until succumbing to his injuries, having never regained consciousness.

Officer MacDonald had served with the Michigan Department of Corrections for 12 years.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and five children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-MI-CCB62427
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.
Correctional Officer MacDonald gave the Michigan Department of Corrections 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Michigan. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Correctional Officer MacDonald.

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

Agency

Department Michigan Department of Corrections

Location Lansing, MI

Platform Identity michcorr.ingham.mi.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 8, 2001

Tour of Duty 12 yrs

Age 40

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Cause Detail Fall

Correctional Officer Ronald Owen MacDonald 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 MI, 229 of 718 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Michigan Department of Corrections, 5 of 15 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.

Michigan Department of Corrections

of 15 officers

33.3% Accident

MI — Statewide

229

of 718 officers

31.9% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers

31% Accident