William McKinley Buck
Agency patch
Patrolman

William McKinley Buck

Chicago Police Department — Chicago, IL
Accident Veteran
End of Watch November 29, 1941
Age 42
Tour of Duty 17 yrs
Badge 5498
The Vigil Panel 78 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman William Buck succumbed to injuries sustained the previous day when the patrol car he was riding in collided with another vehicle at the intersection of California Avenue and Cortland Street.

Patrolman Buck was a U.S Navy veteran and had served with the Chicago Police Department for 17 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-C1B8E122
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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Patrolman Buck gave the Chicago Police Department 17 years.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Location Chicago, IL
Platform Identity cpd.cook.il.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 29, 1941
Tour of Duty 17 yrs
Age 42
Badge Number 5498
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

William McKinley Buck served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.

Patrolman William McKinley Buck 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 IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 4.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

At Chicago Police Department, 107 of 571 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 18.7% of this agency's fallen.

Chicago Police Department
107
of 571 officers
18.7% Accident
IL — Statewide
354
of 1,318 officers
26.9% 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. William McKinley Buck'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 William McKinley Buck Compares

Age at End of Watch
42
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
17
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William McKinley Buck is highlighted in Nov.

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

Incident Location