William D. Pledger

Bay County Sheriff's Office — Panama City, FL

Felonious

End of Watch September 9, 1935

Tour of Duty 9 mo

The Vigil Panel 70 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 4

Incident

Deputy Sheriff William Pledger was shot and killed while checking on road houses and night spots in the Bayou Gorge area. At approximately 1:00 am he became engaged in an altercation with two brothers at the Night Owl Club, a roadhouse near Panama City. One of the men produced a handgun and shot both his brother and Deputy Pledger, killing them both. The suspect, 28, was convicted of Sheriff Pledger's murder and sentenced to death. The Florida Supreme Court granted a new trial and on April 4, 1937, he was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to life. He died in prison on February 4, 1938. Deputy Pledger had served with the Bay County Sheriff's Office for approximately nine months.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-FL-54F001CE
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 Pledger served with the Bay County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Panama City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Pledger.

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

Agency

Department Bay County Sheriff's Office

Location Panama City, FL

Platform Identity bcso.bay.fl.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 9, 1935

Tour of Duty 9 mo

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Handgun

Offender Died in prison

Deputy Sheriff William D. Pledger is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In FL, 539 of 1,008 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53.5% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.

At Bay County Sheriff's Office, 3 of 5 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60% of this agency's fallen.

Bay County Sheriff's Office

of 5 officers

60% Felonious

FL — Statewide

539

of 1,008 officers

53.5% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious