Roll of Honor

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Traffic Officer

William Romano

Houghton Police Department — Houghton, MI

Felonious

End of Watch November 4, 1930

Age 32

Tour of Duty 8 yrs

The Vigil Panel 60 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice

Incident

Officer Romano was shot and killed as he and his partner responded to a location where a man had just shot his neighbor. The man opened fire on the officers as they exited their patrol car, killing Officer Romano. The suspect then went into his home and committed suicide. Officer Romano was single and had served with the agency for 8 years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-MI-9CCD9393
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.
Traffic Officer Romano gave the Houghton Police Department 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Houghton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Traffic Officer Romano.

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

Agency

Department Houghton Police Department

Type Police Department

Location Houghton, Houghton County, MI

Platform Identity hpd.houghton.mi.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 4, 1930

Tour of Duty 8 yrs

Age 32

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Rifle

Traffic Officer William Romano is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In MI, 426 of 719 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 59.2% of this state's fallen. That is 59.2 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Houghton Police Department

of 1 officers

100% Felonious

MI — Statewide

426

of 719 officers

59.2% Felonious

Nationwide

of 97,772 officers

0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Romano's cause is highlighted.

Felonious

1 (0%)

Accident

1 (0%)

Illness

1 (0%)

Cardiac

1 (0%)

Undetermined

1 (0%)

Suicide

1 (0%)

How William Romano Compares

Age at Death

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

Years of Service

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William Romano is highlighted in Nov.

Jan

1,392

Feb

1,295

Mar

1,373

Apr

1,516

May

1,504

Jun

1,442

Jul

1,587

Aug

1,517

Sep

1,491

Oct

1,371

Nov

1,447

Dec

1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William Romano was killed by rifle.

Handgun

3,684

Gun

3,592

Gun; Unknown type

1,492

Shotgun

1,109

Rifle

935

Officer's handgun

909

Others Who Wore This Badge

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