Roll of Honor
Incident
Detective Collins succumbed to injuries sustained two days earlier when he was thrown from a horse-and-buggy. He had received a complaint from a man who claimed to have been swindled, and accompanied the man to question the suspect. While en route the horse bolted, throwing both men from the buggy. Detective Collins struck a tree and suffered severe internal injuries.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-86CAB551- 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.
Detective Collins served with the Augusta Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Augusta community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Collins.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Detective William M. Collins 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 GA, 263 of 903 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.1% of this state's fallen. That is 1.9 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Augusta Police Department, 8 of 18 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 44.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William M. Collins's cause is highlighted.
How William M. Collins Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William M. Collins is highlighted in Jul.
Others Who Wore This Badge
17 officers from Augusta Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
