William Sleeth
Agency patch
Patrolman

William Sleeth

Chicago Police Department — Chicago, IL
Accident
End of Watch October 9, 1894
Age 35
The Vigil Panel 12 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman William Sleeth was struck and killed by a Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad in the area of East 94th Street and South Commercial Avenue.

His left leg was severed as a result of being struck by the engine as he attempted to board a train moving in the opposite direction. He was taken to a nearby house where he died approximately 90 minutes later.

Patrolman Sleeth was assigned to the South Chicago Station was survived by his wife.

Survivors

Patrolman Sleeth was assigned to the South Chicago Station was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-D8285066
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

132 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Patrolman Sleeth served with the Chicago Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Location Chicago, IL
Platform Identity cpd.cook.il.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 9, 1894
Age 35
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Patrolman William Sleeth 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.

Chicago Police Department
107
of 571 officers
18.7% Accident
IL — Statewide
354
of 1,318 officers
26.9% 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. William Sleeth'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 William Sleeth Compares

Age at End of Watch
35
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Sleeth is highlighted in Oct.

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

Incident Location