Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer William Van Arsdale drowned after falling into an ice-covered canal while making his rounds of the docks and coal yards.
It is believed that he was attempting to maneuver around a fence when he fell through the ice at approximately 2:00 am. His body was located the next day after a worker noticed a hole in the ice and a hat frozen into the ice nearby.
Officer Van Arsdale was survived by his wife and six children.
Survivors
Officer Van Arsdale was survived by his wife and six children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-421074CE- 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
170 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Police Officer Van Arsdale served with the New Brunswick Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the New Brunswick community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer William I. Van Arsdale 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 NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 8.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At New Brunswick Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William I. Van Arsdale's cause is highlighted.
How William I. Van Arsdale Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William I. Van Arsdale is highlighted in Dec.
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from New Brunswick Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
