Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief Will Hannah was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man for selling illegal liquor. Chief Hannah rode to the man's house on horseback and located the man in a ravine at the foot of Mount Rachel. The chief was shot in the chest with a shotgun loaded with squirrel shot by the man as he chased him. The suspect fled and wasn't located for 26 years when it was learned in July of 1925 he was in jail in Denton, Texas, where he had just been convicted of forgery and was sentenced to 10 years. Chief Hannah's son had been searching for the man ever since he killed his father, when he found an ex-convict who told him all about the man who murdered his father and where he was. The suspect claimed the admission was not true but he knew the killer and was using his name for an allies and then gave officials his real name. He said he met the real killer a year earlier when he came to Texas looking for his family. He said he soon left and went back to his home in another country that had no relations with the U.S. The suspect, who had nothing to back up his story, was returned to Dalton to stand trial for Chief Hannah's murder. No one in Dalton, who knew the killer 26 years earlier, could identify the man as the killer. On September 3, 1925, was returned to Texas.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-265D1239- 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
127 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Chief of Police Hannah served with the Dalton Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Dalton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Will Hannah is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In GA, 548 of 903 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.7% of this state's fallen. That is 6.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
At Dalton Police Department, 2 of 3 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Will Hannah's cause is highlighted.
How Will Hannah Compares
Offender Outcome
At large
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Will Hannah is highlighted in Sep.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Will Hannah was killed by shotgun.
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Dalton Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
