Theodore Van Zilen
Agency patch
Patrolman

Theodore Van Zilen

Leonia Police Department — Leonia, NJ
Accident
End of Watch August 30, 1918
Age 37
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
The Vigil Panel 34 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman Van Zilen was killed in an automobile accident while escorting the Chief of another agency to an address in the city of Leonia. Patrolman Van Zilen had been with the agency for one year.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-72B7E40F
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

You barely got started.
Patrolman Van Zilen gave the Leonia Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Leonia community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Van Zilen.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Leonia, Bergen County, NJ
Platform Identity leonpd.bergen.nj.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 30, 1918
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
Age 37
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Patrolman Theodore Van Zilen 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 NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 39.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Leonia Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Accident
NJ — Statewide
258
of 646 officers
39.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Theodore Van Zilen's cause is highlighted.

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

How Theodore Van Zilen Compares

Age at Death
37
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
1
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Theodore Van Zilen is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Others Who Wore This Badge

0 officers from Leonia Police Department are honored on badge.nw.