William Howard Ritter
Agency patch
Patrolman

William Howard Ritter

Ashtabula Police Department — Ashtabula, OH
Accident
End of Watch December 18, 1932
Age 33
Tour of Duty 2 yrs 11 mo
Badge 23
The Vigil Panel 65 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman William Ritter succumbed to injuries sustained after falling from a second-story porch while attempting to arrest a suspect for possessing narcotics.

Patrolman Ritter had served with the Ashtabula Police Department for almost three years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-260623A3
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.
Patrolman Ritter gave the Ashtabula Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Ashtabula community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Ritter.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Ashtabula, Ashtabula County, OH
Platform Identity apd.ashtabula.oh.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 18, 1932
Tour of Duty 2 yrs 11 mo
Age 33
Badge Number 23
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Patrolman William Howard Ritter is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In OH, 318 of 991 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.1% of this state's fallen. That is 32.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Ashtabula Police Department, 1 of 4 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25% of this agency's fallen.

Ashtabula Police Department
1
of 4 officers
25% Accident
OH — Statewide
318
of 991 officers
32.1% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

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

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

How William Howard Ritter Compares

Age at Death
33
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
2.9
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

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

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897