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Vernon McDowell
Agency patch
Lieutenant

Vernon McDowell

San Francisco Police Department — San Francisco, CA
Veteran → Cardiac
United States flag California flag
End of Watch February 21, 1981
Age 54
The Vigil Panel 124 ›
Gender Male
Incident Service The Sacrifice Military Department 105

Incident

Lieutenant McDowell suffered a fatal heart attack while on duty.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-CC0A6F0C
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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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Marine Corps. One record, 2 gates. Vernon is one person.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Lieutenant McDowell served with the San Francisco Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the San Francisco community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Lieutenant McDowell.

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

Agency

Department San Francisco Police Department
Type Police Department
Location San Francisco, CA
Platform Identity sfpd.sf.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 21, 1981
Age 54
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac

Military Service

Vernon McDowell served in the U.S. Marine Corps (1948–1952) before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Lieutenant Vernon McDowell is one of 1 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In CA, 52 of 1,837 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 2.8% of this state's fallen. That is 2.8 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At San Francisco Police Department, 2 of 106 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 1.9% of this agency's fallen.

San Francisco Police Department
2
of 106 officers
1.9% Cardiac
CA — Statewide
52
of 1,837 officers
2.8% Cardiac
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Cardiac

National Cause Distribution

How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Vernon McDowell's cause is highlighted.

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

How Vernon McDowell Compares

Age at Death
54
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Vernon McDowell is highlighted in Feb.

Jan
124
Feb
105
Mar
99
Apr
116
May
115
Jun
95
Jul
94
Aug
104
Sep
109
Oct
121
Nov
113
Dec
111

Military Service

Vernon McDowell served in the U.S. Marine Corps (1948–1952) before joining law enforcement.

Visit Vernon McDowell’s page on salute.nw →

His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.