William H. Marple
Agency patch
Policeman

William H. Marple

Los Angeles Police Department — Los Angeles, CA
Accident
End of Watch February 27, 1929
Age 35
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo
The Vigil Panel 57 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Policeman William Marple and Policeman John Schomaker were killed in an automobile accident at the intersection of Avenue 45 and York Boulevard. The brakes on their patrol car failed, causing it to skid on wet pavement and overturn multiple times. Both officers were ejected from the vehicle and succumbed to their injuries at the scene. Policeman Marple had served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 18 months and had previously served with the Glendale Police Department.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-B6DF2482
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

You barely got started.
Policeman Marple gave the Los Angeles Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Los Angeles community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Policeman Marple.

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

Agency

Location Los Angeles, CA
Platform Identity lapd.losangeles.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 27, 1929
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo
Age 35
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Policeman William H. Marple 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 CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Los Angeles Police Department, 97 of 240 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 40.4% of this agency's fallen.

Los Angeles Police Department
97
of 240 officers
40.4% Accident
CA — Statewide
719
of 1,837 officers
39.1% 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 H. Marple'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 H. Marple Compares

Age at End of Watch
35
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
1.5
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William H. Marple is highlighted in Feb.

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