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
Service Record
Incident Details
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.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Sleeth's cause is highlighted.
How William Sleeth Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Sleeth is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
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