Roll of Honor
William Lawrence Bowman
Incident
Officer William Bowman died of injuries he received when he fell from his motorcycle while responding to a robbery call. He was responding to a report of a robbery in progress at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Geary Boulevard. As Officer Bowman approached the intersection, he turned sharply to avoid an approaching patrol car and fell from his motorcycle. Officer Bowman was a United States Marine Corps WWII veteran and had served with the San Francisco Police Department for five years. He was survived by his wife and daughter. He is buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetary, San Bruno, San Mateo County, California.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-1FED9B97- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Officer Bowman gave the San Francisco Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the San Francisco community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
William Lawrence Bowman served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Officer William Lawrence Bowman 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 CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At San Francisco Police Department, 35 of 106 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Lawrence Bowman's cause is highlighted.
How William Lawrence Bowman Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Lawrence Bowman is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
105 officers from San Francisco Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
