Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman William Ellfeldt succumbed to an accidental gunshot wound sustained four days earlier. He was on duty at the patrol barn when a pistol fell from his sergeant's coat pocket and discharged upon hitting the floor. The round struck Patrolman Ellfeldt in the abdomen.
The incident was ruled an accident and the sergeant was exonerated from all blame.
Patrolman Ellfeldt served with the Chicago Police Department for five months.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-69D04B3D- 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
136 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Patrolman Ellfeldt served with the Chicago Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman William F. Ellfeldt 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.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William F. Ellfeldt's cause is highlighted.
How William F. Ellfeldt Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William F. Ellfeldt is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
570 officers from Chicago Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
