William Joe Giles
Agency patch
Town Marshal

William Joe Giles

Winslow Police Department — Winslow, AZ
Felonious
End of Watch October 28, 1905
Age 39
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
The Vigil Panel 20 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Marshal Giles was shot and killed while attempting to quell an argument in a local saloon. An inebriated patron of the saloon and a roulette operator had become engaged in an argument and the patron, upset over his losses, threatened the operator with a gun. When Marshal Giles asked the man to put his gun away the man shot him four times. Marshal Giles returned fire but did not strike the suspect, who later turned himself in. The suspect, himself a deputy from Navajo County, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years but was pardoned after only a few years.

Survivors

Marshal Giles had been with the agency for less than one year and was survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters, his mother, two brothers, and four sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-AZ-A7D1AAFB
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

You barely got started.
Town Marshal Giles gave the Winslow Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Winslow community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Town Marshal Giles.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Winslow, Navajo County, AZ
Platform Identity wpd.navajo.az.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 28, 1905
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
Age 39
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

Town Marshal William Joe Giles 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 AZ, 204 of 330 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 61.8% of this state's fallen. That is 61.8 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Winslow Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Felonious
AZ — Statewide
204
of 330 officers
61.8% 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 Joe Giles's cause is highlighted.

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

How William Joe Giles Compares

Age at Death
39
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
1
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William Joe Giles is highlighted in Oct.

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 Joe Giles was killed by gun.

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 Winslow Police Department are honored on badge.nw.