William L. Davidson
Agency patch
Officer

William L. Davidson

Santa Monica Police Department — Santa Monica, CA
Accident
End of Watch August 22, 1969
Age 31
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
The Vigil Panel 105 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer William Davidson was killed in a motorcycle crash in the Santa Monica Courthouse parking lot while training a new officer on the operation of the department's three-wheeled motorcycles. He was leaving the parking lot when he struck a chain that had been strung across the entrance to Pico Boulevard. Officer Davidson had served with the Santa Monica Police Department for three years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-370FFA6A
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.
Officer Davidson gave the Santa Monica Police Department 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Santa Monica community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Davidson.

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

Agency

Location Santa Monica, CA
Platform Identity smpd.losangeles.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 22, 1969
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
Age 31
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Officer William L. Davidson 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 Santa Monica Police Department, 5 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 83.3% of this agency's fallen.

Santa Monica Police Department
5
of 6 officers
83.3% Accident
CA — Statewide
719
of 1,837 officers
39.1% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William L. Davidson'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 William L. Davidson Compares

Age at End of Watch
31
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
3
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William L. Davidson is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location