Charles Mortimer Kurtz

Volusia County Sheriff's Office — DeLand, FL

Accident

End of Watch September 3, 1907

Age 33

The Vigil Panel 21 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 4

Incident

Deputy Kurtz was accidentally shot and killed with his own weapon while transporting a prisoner from New Smyrna Beach to Daytona Beach. He was transporting the prisoner for fear that a lynch mob was going to kill the man. When he and the prisoner reached Spruce Creek in Port Orange they discovered that the bridge had been damaged. As Deputy Kurtz bent down to replace a missing plank his gun discharged, fatally wounding him. Deputy Kurtz had a brother and a nephew who were also killed in the line of duty while serving the Volusia County Sheriff's Department. His brother, Sheriff Jefferson Kurtz, was shot and killed on August 24, 1895, and his nephew, Deputy William Kremer, was shot and killed on December 10, 1898.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-FL-30ED22FF
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.
Deputy Sheriff Kurtz served with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the DeLand community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Kurtz.

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

Agency

Department Volusia County Sheriff's Office

Location DeLand, FL

Platform Identity vcso.volusia.fl.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 3, 1907

Age 33

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Deputy Sheriff Charles Mortimer Kurtz 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 Volusia County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 5 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 20% of this agency's fallen.

Volusia County Sheriff's Office

of 5 officers

20% Accident

FL — Statewide

313

of 1,008 officers

31.1% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers

31% Accident