Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Edward Smerdel was accidentally shot and killed while cleaning his service revolver at a police substation.
Patrolman Smerdel had served with the Denver Police Department for 12 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and one child.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CO-F7399949- 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.
Patrolman Smerdel gave the Denver Police Department 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the Denver community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Smerdel.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Edward H. Smerdel 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 Denver Police Department, 16 of 74 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 21.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Edward H. Smerdel's cause is highlighted.
How Edward H. Smerdel Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Edward H. Smerdel is highlighted in Jul.
Others Who Wore This Badge
73 officers from Denver Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
