William O. Putnam
Agency patch
Police Officer

William O. Putnam

Caro Police Department — Caro, MI
Cardiac
End of Watch December 25, 1961
Age 51
Tour of Duty 18 yrs
The Vigil Panel 97 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer William Putnam suffered a fatal heart attack several hours after struggling with an armed suspect at a domestic disturbance call at 616 West Gilford Road.

Officer Putnam had served with the Caro Police Department for 18 years and had previously served with the Tuscola County Sheriff's Office.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and four children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-1EA37B60
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Police Officer Putnam gave the Caro Police Department 18 years.
Thank you for your service to the Caro community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Putnam.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Caro, Tuscola County, MI
Platform Identity cpd.tuscola.mi.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 25, 1961
Tour of Duty 18 yrs
Age 51
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac
Cause Detail Heart attack
Weapon Person

Police Officer William O. Putnam is one of 1 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In MI, 39 of 719 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5.4% of this state's fallen. That is 5.4 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Caro Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Cardiac
MI — Statewide
39
of 719 officers
5.4% Cardiac
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Cardiac

National Cause Distribution

How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William O. Putnam's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How William O. Putnam Compares

Age at Death
51
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
18
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. William O. Putnam is highlighted in Dec.

Jan
124
Feb
105
Mar
99
Apr
116
May
115
Jun
95
Jul
94
Aug
104
Sep
109
Oct
121
Nov
113
Dec
111

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

0 officers from Caro Police Department are honored on badge.nw.