Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff James O'Malley was killed in an automobile accident while returning from Des Moines on a trip to receive the governor's signature for an extradition order. During severely dense fog his vehicle struck a bridge rail and he was killed.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IA-23E822C6- Stewardship
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- 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.
Sheriff O'Malley served with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department.
Thank you for your service to the Webster City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sheriff O'Malley.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff James L. O'Malley 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 IA, 71 of 226 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.4% of this state's fallen. That is 0.4 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James L. O'Malley's cause is highlighted.
How James L. O'Malley Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James L. O'Malley is highlighted in Aug.