Roll of Honor
Incident
Detective James Mescall succumbed to injuries sustained on April 1st, 1925, when he was thrown from a patrol car when it was struck by a Rolls Royce limousine at the intersection of 39th Street and Lake Park Avenue.
He struck his head on the pavement upon being ejected.
Detective Mescall had served with the Chicago Police Department for 20 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-CFC50366- 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 James. 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
20 years. You could have gone home.
Detective Mescall gave the Chicago Police Department 20 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Mescall.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Detective James R. Mescall 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. James R. Mescall's cause is highlighted.
How James R. Mescall Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. James R. Mescall is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
570 officers from Chicago Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
