Thomas Edward Shea
Police Officer

Thomas Edward Shea

Wellesley Police Dept. — Wellesley, MA
Accident
End of Watch March 14, 1940
Age 33
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
The Vigil Panel 76 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Shea succumbed to injuries sustained six years earlier while pursuing a vehicle on Route 135. As he approached Pond Road another vehicle made a turn in front of him, causing him to collide with the vehicle. He was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital after the collision. He succumbed to his injuries after six years of surgeries and rehabilitation efforts. Officer Shea had served with the agency for 8 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and one child.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-C78C900D
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.
Police Officer Shea gave the Wellesley Police Department 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Wellesley community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Shea.

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

Agency

Location Wellesley, MA
Platform Identity wellpd.norfolk.ma.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch March 14, 1940
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
Age 33
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Weapon Automobile
Offender Not available

Police Officer Thomas Edward Shea 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 MA, 158 of 469 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.7% of this state's fallen. That is 2.7 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Wellesley Police Dept., 2 of 3 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.

Wellesley Police Dept.
2
of 3 officers
66.7% Accident
MA — Statewide
158
of 469 officers
33.7% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas Edward Shea's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Thomas Edward Shea Compares

Age at End of Watch
33
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
8
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

Offender Outcome

Not available

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas Edward Shea is highlighted in Mar.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Others Who Wore This Badge

2 officers from Wellesley Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw.