Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Smith succumbed to injuries received three years earlier when the patrol car he and Sergeant Clarence Martin were riding in was struck head-on by a car driving on the wrong side of the road. Sergeant Martin was also killed in the accident. Patrolman Smith had been with the agency for one year.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AL-2C989A28- 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
You barely got started.
Patrolman Smith gave the Jacksonville Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Jacksonville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Smith.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Willie Lester Smith 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 AL, 182 of 643 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.3% of this state's fallen. That is 2.7 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Jacksonville Police Dept., 3 of 6 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. Willie Lester Smith's cause is highlighted.
How Willie Lester Smith Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Willie Lester Smith is highlighted in Mar.
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from Jacksonville Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw.
