Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officers Shawn Smiley and Richard Halford were killed in a helicopter crash while assisting in the search for a missing 9-year-old boy at approximately 10:30 pm.
They were flying low over an area approximately four miles west of downtown when the Hughes OH-6A helicopter suddenly crashed to the ground near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Hamilton E. Holmes Drive. The helicopter exploded after impacting the ground. The cause of the crash is under investigation by the NTSB and FAA.
The boy they were searching for was found safe a short time later.
Officer Smiley was a U.S. Navy veteran and had served with the Atlanta Police Department for two years and had been assigned as a tactical flight officer in the Air Unit for one year.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-6458A637- 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.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Shawn. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Police Officer Smiley gave the Atlanta Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Atlanta community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Shawn Antonio Smiley served in the Navy (1996â2000) before joining law enforcement.
Police Officer Shawn Antonio Smiley 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 GA, 263 of 903 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.1% of this state's fallen. That is 1.9 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Atlanta Police Department, 29 of 88 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Shawn Antonio Smiley's cause is highlighted.
How Shawn Antonio Smiley Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Shawn Antonio Smiley is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
87 officers from Atlanta Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
