William Leonard Sikola
Agency patch
Police Officer

William Leonard Sikola

Bakersfield Police Department — Bakersfield, CA
Accident
End of Watch July 17, 1983
Age 27
Tour of Duty 4 yrs
Badge 480
The Vigil Panel 127 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer William Sikola was killed in a motorcycle crash while responding to assist in the pursuit of a stolen vehicle on Highway 99. Officer Sikola was driving home from finishing his shift, and a call came on the radio about a stolen vehicle from a local car dealer. Officer Sikola joined the pursuit and got a "high-speed wobble" from the motorcycle. He received extensive head injuries from his shorty bell helmet and died 4 hours later. Officer Sikola had served with the Bakersfield Police Department for four years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and three children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-A63FCEF0
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 Sikola gave the Bakersfield Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Bakersfield community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Sikola.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Bakersfield, Kern County, CA
Platform Identity bpd.kern.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 17, 1983
Tour of Duty 4 yrs
Age 27
Badge Number 480
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Weapon Automobile

Police Officer William Leonard Sikola 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 CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 39.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Bakersfield Police Department, 7 of 8 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 87.5% of this agency's fallen.

Bakersfield Police Department
7
of 8 officers
87.5% Accident
CA — Statewide
719
of 1,837 officers
39.1% 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 Leonard Sikola's cause is highlighted.

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

How William Leonard Sikola Compares

Age at Death
27
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
4
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Leonard Sikola is highlighted in Jul.

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