Roll of Honor
Richard Zeff
Incident
Special Deputy Marshal Richard Zeff was accidentally shot and killed in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Grand Central Station in Chicago, Illinois.
He had been deputized by the United States Marshals Service and brought to Chicago from Baltimore, Maryland, to assist with a railroad worker's strike. He was attending a briefing in Room 407 with other special deputies and railroad detectives when a riot gun that was propped against a wall fell over. The gun discharged when it struck a radiator. Special Deputy Marshal Zeff was struck in the chest and was killed. A second officer suffered a non-fatal wound to the face.
Special Deputy Zeff was survived by his wife and six children.
Survivors
Special Deputy Zeff was survived by his wife and six children.
In Our Keeping
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BO-US-FED-5FEEE68F- 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
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Special Deputy Marshal Zeff served with the United States Department of Justice.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Special Deputy Marshal Richard Zeff 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 DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At United States Department of Justice - United States Marshals Service, 43 of 313 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 13.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Richard Zeff's cause is highlighted.
How Richard Zeff Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Richard Zeff is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
312 officers from United States Department of Justice - United States Marshals Service are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
