Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff Jimmie Collier suffered a fatal heart attack as he and a deputy arrested two drunk men along Highway 231 approximately 1-1/2 miles south of the Whitesburg Bridge.
They were walking the two men back to their patrol car when Sheriff Collier suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to Huntsville Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Sheriff Collier was finishing his first four-year term with the Morgan County Sheriff's Office and had been reelected to start a second term on January 1, 1959. He had previously served with the Decatur Police Department for approximately eight years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, four daughters, and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AL-B1997C72- 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.
Sheriff Collier gave the Morgan County Sheriff's Office 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the Decatur community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sheriff Collier.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff James Howard Collier 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 AL, 30 of 643 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 4.7% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Morgan County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 3 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Howard Collier's cause is highlighted.
How James Howard Collier Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. James Howard Collier is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Morgan County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
