Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant William Thurston was responding to a disturbance call with another deputy when his patrol unit was struck on the drivers side by another vehicle. Thurston was extricated from the vehicle by the local fire department and transported to the local hospital in Denton. He was later flown to Harris Hospital in Ft. Worth where he passed away.
Survivors
Sergeant Thurston had served with the agency for 25 years and was survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-D757061B- 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
25 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Thurston gave the Denton County Sheriff's Office 25 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Denton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Thurston.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant William Keith Thurston 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 TX, 653 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27% of this state's fallen. That is 4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Denton County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 4 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Keith Thurston's cause is highlighted.
How William Keith Thurston Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Keith Thurston is highlighted in Dec.
Others Who Wore This Badge
3 officers from Denton County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
