Howard M. Shaffer
Agency patch
Sheriff

Howard M. Shaffer

Accident
End of Watch March 25, 1972
The Vigil Panel 110 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sheriff Howard Shaffer was killed when his patrol car was struck by a train while he was responding to a call.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-ID-24ECC2CD
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.
Sheriff Shaffer served with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Rigby community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sheriff Shaffer.

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

Agency

Location Rigby, ID
Platform Identity jcso.jefferson.id.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch March 25, 1972
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Sheriff Howard M. Shaffer 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 ID, 21 of 71 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.6% of this state's fallen. That is 1.4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
1
of 1 officers
100% Accident
ID — Statewide
21
of 71 officers
29.6% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Howard M. Shaffer'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 Howard M. Shaffer Compares

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Howard M. Shaffer is highlighted in Mar.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897