William E. Goles
Agency patch
Detective

William E. Goles

Chicago Police Department — Chicago, IL
Accident
End of Watch January 19, 1947
Age 34
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
The Vigil Panel 83 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Detective William Goles was inadvertently shot and killed by his partner as they searched for a burglary suspect a darkened brewery at 2118 S. Albany Avenue.

Detective Goles had served with the Chicago Police Department for one year.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and two children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-831A5760
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.
Detective Goles gave the Chicago Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Goles.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Chicago, Cook County, IL
Platform Identity cpd.cook.il.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 19, 1947
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
Age 34
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Gunfire (Inadvertent)
Weapon Shotgun

Detective William E. Goles is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 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 26.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

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.

Chicago Police Department
107
of 571 officers
18.7% Accident
IL — Statewide
354
of 1,318 officers
26.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William E. Goles's cause is highlighted.

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

How William E. Goles Compares

Age at Death
34
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
1
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William E. Goles is highlighted in Jan.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location