Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputies Baxter Willis and J.W. Edwards were both shot and fatally wounded when they mistook each other for a suspect they were searching for.
Both deputies, along with a railroad special agent and another deputy, were searching for a man who had fired a gun at a freight train several nights earlier. The officers had split up into two groups and searched the woods for several hours.
At around dusk the two groups encountered each other. Deputy Willis was standing on the railroad tracks when Deputy Edwards saw him, but did not recognize him. Deputy Edwards ordered him to raise his hands and then opened fire as he turned towards him.
Thinking he was being fired upon by the suspect, Deputy Willis returned the fire, striking Deputy Edwards. Deputy Edwards was killed instantly. Deputy Willis died as a result of his wounds three weeks later.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-LA-260E9B53- Stewardship
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- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
131 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Deputy Sheriff Willis served with the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Monroe community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff S. Baxter Willis 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 LA, 180 of 595 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.3% of this state's fallen. That is 30.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office, 3 of 6 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. S. Baxter Willis's cause is highlighted.
How S. Baxter Willis Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. S. Baxter Willis is highlighted in Jun.
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
