William H. Callaway Jr.
Agency patch
Chief of Police

William H. Callaway Jr.

Manchester Police Department — Manchester, GA
Felonious
End of Watch September 27, 1927
Age 38
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
The Vigil Panel 54 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Chief William Callaway was shot and killed while searching for a man who failed to report to fulfill his sentence to a chain gang.

The chief and a citizen went to the man's cabin in search for him. When they arrived at the cabin, the man's father came out with a shotgun and immediately opened fire, killing Chief Callaway.

The suspect was eventually apprehended and convicted of Chief Callaway's murder. He was executed in the electric chair on January 18, 1929.

Chief Callaway was survived by his wife, son, and daughter. He is buried in Manchester Cemetery in Manchester, Georgia.

Chief Callaway was survived by his wife, son, and daughter. He is buried in Manchester Cemetery in Manchester, Georgia.

Survivors

Chief Callaway was survived by his wife, son, and daughter.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-18670E79
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

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Chief of Police Callaway gave the Manchester Police Department 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Manchester community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Callaway.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Manchester, Meriwether County, GA
Platform Identity mpd.meriwether.ga.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 27, 1927
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
Age 38
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Cause Detail Gunfire
Weapon Shotgun

Chief of Police William H. Callaway Jr. is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In GA, 549 of 905 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.7% of this state's fallen. That is 60.7 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Manchester Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Felonious
GA — Statewide
549
of 905 officers
60.7% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William H. Callaway Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

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

How William H. Callaway Jr. Compares

Age at Death
38
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
8
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William H. Callaway Jr. is highlighted in Sep.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William H. Callaway Jr. was killed by shotgun.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909

Others Who Wore This Badge

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