Incident
Patrolman William Stephens was standing alongside the street using a police callbox when two vehicles collided at the intersection of 7th Street and 8th Avenue. One of the vehicles then struck him, causing him to fall and suffer a broken neck.
Survivors
Patrolman Stephens was survived by his wife and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-97D3E802- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
26 years. You could have gone home.
Patrolman Stephens gave the Altoona Police Department 26 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Altoona community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Stephens.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman William L. Stephens is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In PA, 417 of 1,261 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.1% of this state's fallen. That is 2.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Altoona Police Department, 3 of 3 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William L. Stephens's cause is highlighted.
How William L. Stephens Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William L. Stephens is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Altoona Police Department are honored on badge.nw.

