Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Steven Downing suffered a fatal heart attack while attempting to rescue the occupants of a capsized boat in Old Hickory Lake. Officer Downing was off duty doing yard work when a fellow officer drove by and asked for his assistance in the rescue. Despite Officer Downing's heart attack, the occupants of the boat were successfully rescued. Officer Downing had served with the Gallatin Police Department for seven years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and a grandson.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-3E732520- 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.
Patrol Officer Downing gave the Gallatin Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the Gallatin community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrol Officer Downing.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrol Officer Steven Harold Downing is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TN, 37 of 769 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 4.8% of this state's fallen. That is 0.8 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Steven Harold Downing's cause is highlighted.
How Steven Harold Downing Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Steven Harold Downing is highlighted in Apr.