Roll of Honor
Incident
Reserve Policeman William Furdon was electrocuted when he attempted to pickup a fallen telephone line on Washington Street in the Brighton Hill area.
He was walking to call box 15 to take a call when he saw the wire and attempted to move it off of the sidewalk. He was electrocuted when he bent down to pick it up.
Policeman Furdon had served with the Newton Police Department for only three months and was filling in for several officers who were on vacation.
Survivors
He was survived by his parents and six siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-40FD529A- 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.
Patrolman Furdon served with the Newton Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the West Newton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Furdon.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman William Henry Furdon 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 MA, 158 of 469 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.7% of this state's fallen. That is 2.7 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Newton Police Department, 2 of 5 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 40% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Henry Furdon's cause is highlighted.
How William Henry Furdon Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Henry Furdon is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
4 officers from Newton Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
