Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman William Bell was shot and killed by other officers while he pursued a robbery suspect while off duty. He had witnessed the robbery of a grocery store at 1709 E. 71st Street and began to pursue the subject as on-duty plainclothes officers arrived on the scene. Both Patrolman Bell and the arriving officers mistook each other for the suspect accomplices and opened fire on each other. Patrolman Bell was killed, and one of the other officers was wounded. The man hid in a nearby building and began firing at officers who were searching for him. A fierce gun battle ensued in which the man was killed. Patrolman Bell had served with the Chicago Police Department for almost three years and was assigned to the 2nd District in Wabash.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and parents.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-0E1B8348- 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.
Patrolman Bell gave the Chicago Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Bell.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman William Y. Bell 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 IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 4.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Chicago Police Department, 107 of 571 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 18.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Y. Bell's cause is highlighted.
How William Y. Bell Compares
Offender Outcome
Shot and killed
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Y. Bell is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
570 officers from Chicago Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
