Preston R. Butler

Huntsville Police Department — Huntsville, AL

Accident

End of Watch June 3, 1966

Age 27

Tour of Duty 5 yrs

The Vigil Panel 101 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 12

Incident

Police Officer Preston Butler succumbed to injuries sustained three weeks earlier on Memorial Parkway when he was involved in a motorcycle accident while en route to another accident call. The fuel tank ruptured and Officer Butler was trapped beneath the motorcycle while on the parkway near Oakwood Avenue. He suffered burns over 90 percent of his body. He was taken to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Officer Butler had served with the agency for five years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-AL-597C323A
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

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Police Officer Butler gave the Huntsville Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Huntsville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Butler.

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

Agency

Department Huntsville Police Department

Location Huntsville, AL

Platform Identity hpd.madison.al.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch June 3, 1966

Tour of Duty 5 yrs

Age 27

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Police Officer Preston R. Butler 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 Huntsville Police Department, 5 of 13 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 38.5% of this agency's fallen.

Huntsville Police Department

of 13 officers

38.5% Accident

AL — Statewide

182

of 643 officers

28.3% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers

31% Accident