Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Petersen and Patrolman John Alexander were killed in an airplane accident while on approach to the Ft. Lauderdale / Hollywood International Airport. The officers were on patrol in the department's Cessna 150 when the accident occurred. Patrolman Petersen was piloting the aircraft.
Survivors
Patrolman Petersen had been with the agency for 20 years and was survived by his wife and two sons.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FL-1202B771- 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
20 years. You could have gone home.
Patrolman Petersen gave the Fort Lauderdale Police Department 20 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Fort Lauderdale community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Petersen.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Kenneth Petersen 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 FL, 313 of 1,008 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.1% of this state's fallen. That is 0.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Fort Lauderdale Police Dept., 9 of 13 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 69.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Kenneth Petersen's cause is highlighted.
How Kenneth Petersen Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Kenneth Petersen is highlighted in Aug.
Others Who Wore This Badge
12 officers from Fort Lauderdale Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw.
