Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer William Gratton succumbed to injuries sustained five days earlier when his motorcycle was struck by another vehicle at the intersection of Selden Street and 4th Avenue. He was ejected from the vehicle and thrown 15 feet. He was transported to Harper Hospital, where he remained in a coma for five days before succumbing to his injuries. Officer Gratton had only served with the Detroit Police Department for 5 months.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, parents, sister, and four brothers.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-5E558746- 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.
Police Officer Gratton served with the Detroit Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Gratton.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer William M. Gratton 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 MI, 229 of 718 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Detroit Police Department, 58 of 250 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William M. Gratton's cause is highlighted.
How William M. Gratton Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William M. Gratton is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
249 officers from Detroit Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
