William J. Henderson
Agency patch
Policeman

William J. Henderson

Philadelphia Police Department — Philadelphia, PA
Accident Veteran
End of Watch December 25, 1941
Age 54
Tour of Duty 23 yrs
The Vigil Panel 78 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Henderson was killed when he was struck and run over by a bus that had just made a left on Wayne Avenue from Lincoln Drive. He was returning home after finishing a four-hour shift of guard duty at the Walnut Line Bridge.

He was a U.S Army veteran of WWI and had served with the Philadelphia Police Department for 23 years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-F167D94A
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.

Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew William. Claim this record.

This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.

Tributes

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Policeman Henderson gave the Philadelphia Police Department 23 years.
Thank you for your service to the Philadelphia community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Location Philadelphia, PA
Platform Identity ppd.philadelphia.pa.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 25, 1941
Tour of Duty 23 yrs
Age 54
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

William J. Henderson served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.

Policeman William J. Henderson 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 PA, 417 of 1,261 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.1% of this state's fallen. That is 2.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Philadelphia Police Department, 110 of 378 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.1% of this agency's fallen.

Philadelphia Police Department
110
of 378 officers
29.1% Accident
PA — Statewide
417
of 1,261 officers
33.1% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

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

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How William J. Henderson Compares

Age at End of Watch
54
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
23
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William J. Henderson is highlighted in Dec.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location