Wilson McLaurin
Agency patch
Police Officer

Wilson McLaurin

Cardiac
End of Watch December 2, 1975
Age 59
Tour of Duty 25 yrs
The Vigil Panel 116 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer Wilson McLaurin suffered a fatal heart attack while assisting with the arrest of a subject on the former grounds of Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains.

The man had led officers from the Morris Plains Police Department on a vehicle pursuit after they tried to stop him for a traffic violation. The man fled onto the hospital grounds where the vehicle stopped near a staff housing unit.

Officer McLaurin and another hospital police officer came to the assistance of the local police and struggled with the subject before handcuffing him and placing him into a patrol car. Officer McLaurin collapsed two minutes later. He was transported to Morristown Memorial Hospital where he died a short time later.

The subject was charged with several traffic citations and assault and battery.

Officer McLaurin had served with the New Jersey Department of Institutions and Agencies for 25 years and was assigned to Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-55CEF033
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.
Police Officer McLaurin gave the New Jersey Department of Institutions and Agencies Police 25 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Trenton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer McLaurin.

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

Agency

Location Trenton, NJ
Platform Identity njdiapd.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 2, 1975
Tour of Duty 25 yrs
Age 59
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac
Cause Detail Heart attack
Weapon Person
Offender Arrested

Police Officer Wilson McLaurin is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In NJ, 38 of 646 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5.9% of this state's fallen. That is 1.9 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.

New Jersey Department of Institutions and Agencies Police
1
of 1 officers
100% Cardiac
NJ — Statewide
38
of 646 officers
5.9% Cardiac
Nationwide
1,306
of 32,508 officers
4% Cardiac

National Cause Distribution

How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Wilson McLaurin's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Wilson McLaurin Compares

Age at End of Watch
59
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
25
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

Offender Outcome

Arrested

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Wilson McLaurin is highlighted in Dec.

Jan
124
Feb
105
Mar
99
Apr
116
May
115
Jun
95
Jul
94
Aug
104
Sep
109
Oct
121
Nov
113
Dec
111

Incident Location