Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Thomas Tolbert succumbed to an accidental gunshot wound sustained on June 18th, 1879.
He and another officer had stopped in at a saloon on Chestnut Street. Officer Tolbert was brushing off the other officer's uniform and, as he bent down to brush off the pants, his revolver fell from his breast pocket and discharged. The round struck Officer Tolbert in the leg, causing a serious wound.
Doctors decided not to amputate the leg as Officer Tolbert's condition seemed to improve. However, his condition suddenly worsened and he died on July 2nd, 1879.
Officer Tolbert had served with the Leadville Police Department for approximately 11 months.
Thank you for your service and please know that no passage of time will ever erase your sacrifice. Rest in peace always.
Detective Cpl/3 Steven Rizzo Delaware State Police (Retired) July 2nd, 2020
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CO-4A587D77- 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
147 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Police Officer Tolbert served with the Leadville Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Leadville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Thomas F. Tolbert 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 CO, 101 of 360 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.1% of this state's fallen. That is 2.9 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Leadville Police Department, 2 of 7 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas F. Tolbert's cause is highlighted.
How Thomas F. Tolbert Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas F. Tolbert is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
6 officers from Leadville Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
