William L. Sills
Agency patch
Patrol Inspector

William L. Sills

Felonious
End of Watch January 17, 1940
Age 30
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
The Vigil Panel 76 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrol Inspector William Sills was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a smuggler along the bank of the Rio Grande River south of La Grulla, approximately 25 miles west of McAllen, Texas. He and two other inspectors had encountered three smugglers. Two of the aliens were arrested and Inspector Sills was shot while attempting to stop the third from escaping. Despite being mortally wounded, he was able to return fire and kill the suspect. Inspector Sills had served with the United States Border Patrol for three years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-66721516
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.
Patrol Inspector Sills gave the United States Department of Labor 3 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrol Inspector Sills.

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

Agency

Type Federal Agency
Location Washington, DC
Platform Identity usdlisusbpfed.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 17, 1940
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
Age 30
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

Patrol Inspector William L. Sills 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 DC, 754 of 1,418 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53.2% of this state's fallen. That is 53.2 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At United States Department of Labor - Immigration Service - United States Border Patrol, 20 of 28 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 71.4% of this agency's fallen.

United States Department of Labor - Immigration Service - United States Border Patrol
20
of 28 officers
71.4% Felonious
DC — Statewide
754
of 1,418 officers
53.2% 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 L. Sills's cause is highlighted.

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

How William L. Sills Compares

Age at Death
30
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
3
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William L. Sills is highlighted in Jan.

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 L. Sills was killed by gun.

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

Incident Location