William F. Dobbs, Jr.
Agency patch
Trooper

William F. Dobbs, Jr.

New York State Police — Albany, NY
Accident
End of Watch August 27, 1939
Age 30
The Vigil Panel 76 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Trooper William Dobbs was killed when his motorcycle stuck a vehicle that had just been involved in an accident. Trooper Dobbs was thrown 15 feet and died from his injuries later that day.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-E857794F
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.
Trooper Dobbs served with the New York State Police.
Thank you for your service to the people of New York. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Dobbs.

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

Agency

Location Albany, NY
Platform Identity nysp.ny.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 27, 1939
Age 30
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Trooper William F. Dobbs, Jr. 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 NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

At New York State Police, 94 of 171 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 55% of this agency's fallen.

New York State Police
94
of 171 officers
55% Accident
NY — Statewide
645
of 2,147 officers
30% 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 F. Dobbs, Jr.'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 F. Dobbs, Jr. Compares

Age at End of Watch
30
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William F. Dobbs, Jr. is highlighted in Aug.

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