Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff William Justice was struck by a train and killed while he and a town marshal searched the Burlington Railroad Yards in Akron for a hobo who was wanted for creating a disturbance. As they stood on a side track to watch a freight train pass by, they failed to observe an engine backing up. The marshal saw the train at the last moment and was able to jump out of the way, however, the train struck Sheriff Justice. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries the next day. Sheriff Justice had served with the Washington County Sheriff's Office for four years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CO-3613837C- 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.
Sheriff Justice gave the Washington County Sheriff's Office 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Akron community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sheriff Justice.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff William B. Justice 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 CO, 101 of 360 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.1% of this state's fallen. That is 2.9 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Washington County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 3 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William B. Justice's cause is highlighted.
How William B. Justice Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William B. Justice is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Washington County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
