William M. Sheppard
Agency patch
Sergeant

William M. Sheppard

Felonious
End of Watch June 9, 1951
Age 63
Tour of Duty 31 yrs
The Vigil Panel 87 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant Sheppard died of complications from gunshot wounds he suffered two years earlier in a gun battle with a youthful bandit. Sergeant Sheppard shot and killed the suspect.

Survivors

Sergeant Sheppard served with the agency for 31 years and was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-58181703
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

31 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Sheppard gave the Chatham County Police Department 31 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Savannah community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Sheppard.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Savannah, Chatham County, GA
Platform Identity ccpd.chatham.ga.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch June 9, 1951
Tour of Duty 31 yrs
Age 63
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

Sergeant William M. Sheppard 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 GA, 549 of 905 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.7% of this state's fallen. That is 60.7 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Chatham County Police Department, 5 of 11 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 45.5% of this agency's fallen.

Chatham County Police Department
5
of 11 officers
45.5% Felonious
GA — Statewide
549
of 905 officers
60.7% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

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

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

How William M. Sheppard Compares

Age at Death
63
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
31
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William M. Sheppard is highlighted in Jun.

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 M. Sheppard was killed by gun.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909