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William J. O'Leary
Agency patch
Assistant Chief of Police

William J. O'Leary

Big Spring Police Department — Big Spring, TX
Felonious
United States flag Texas flag
End of Watch November 28, 1939
Age 43
Tour of Duty 5 mo
The Vigil Panel 76 ›
Gender Male
Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 3

Incident

Assistant William Chief O'Leary was shot and killed while struggling with a suspect in front of a grocery store. There were no witnesses to the shooting and suspects were immediately identified. Approximately one month later a prisoner committed suicide and left a note stating he had killed Assistant Chief O'Leary. The note identified the location of the murder weapon, which later was linked to the bullets recovered from Assistant Chief O'Leary's body.

Survivors

Assistant Chief O'Leary had been with the agency for only five months and was survived by three sons.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-C7475FB6
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.
Assistant Chief of Police O'Leary served with the Big Spring Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Big Spring community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Assistant Chief of Police O'Leary.

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

Agency

Department Big Spring Police Department
Location Big Spring, TX
Platform Identity bspd.howard.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 28, 1939
Tour of Duty 5 mo
Age 43
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun; Unknown type
Offender Committed suicide

Assistant Chief of Police William J. O'Leary is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In TX, 1,463 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.4% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Big Spring Police Department, 3 of 4 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 75% of this agency's fallen.

Big Spring Police Department
3
of 4 officers
75% Felonious
TX — Statewide
1,463
of 2,421 officers
60.4% Felonious
Nationwide
17,623
of 32,508 officers
54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William J. O'Leary'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. O'Leary Compares

Age at End of Watch
43
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
0.4
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.5 years

Offender Outcome

Committed suicide

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William J. O'Leary is highlighted in Nov.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,517
May
1,505
Jun
1,443
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,516
Sep
1,553
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William J. O'Leary was killed by gun; unknown type.

Gun; Unknown type
5,083
Handgun
2,077
Shotgun
922
Officer's handgun
909
Automobile; Alcohol involved
530
Rifle
518