Roll of Honor

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Deputy Sheriff

Moses W. Formwalt

DeKalb County Sheriff's Office — Decatur, GA

Felonious

End of Watch May 1, 1852

Age 32

Tour of Duty 1 yrs

The Vigil Panel 1 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 1

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Moses Formwalt was stabbed to death by a prisoner he was escorting from the council chambers at the courthouse.

Deputy Formwalt had previously served as the first mayor of Atlanta, from 1848 to 1849, after the city was renamed from Marthasville. A city street was named in his honor.

Deputy Formwalt had served with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office for one year and is buried in Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-GA-43C05CC3
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

174 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Deputy Sheriff Formwalt gave the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Decatur community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Department DeKalb County Sheriff's Office

Location Decatur, GA

Platform Identity dcso.dekalb.ga.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 1, 1852

Tour of Duty 1 yrs

Age 32

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Deputy Sheriff Moses W. Formwalt 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 GA, 548 of 903 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.7% of this state's fallen. That is 6.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, 2 of 2 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.

DeKalb County Sheriff's Office

of 2 officers

100% Felonious

GA — Statewide

548

of 903 officers

60.7% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Moses W. Formwalt's cause is highlighted.

Felonious

17,623 (54.2%)

Accident

10,088 (31%)

Illness

2,974 (9.1%)

Cardiac

1,306 (4%)

Undetermined

260 (0.8%)

Suicide

256 (0.8%)

vehicular

1 (0%)

How Moses W. Formwalt Compares

Age at End of Watch

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

Years of Service

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 8.5 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Moses W. Formwalt is highlighted in May.

Jan

1,392

Feb

1,295

Mar

1,373

Apr

1,517

May

1,505

Jun

1,443

Jul

1,587

Aug

1,516

Sep

1,553

Oct

1,371

Nov

1,447

Dec

1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths.

Gun; Unknown type

5,083

Handgun

2,077

Shotgun

922

Officer's handgun

909

Automobile; Alcohol involved

530

Rifle

518

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

1 officer from DeKalb County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.