James T. Gaughan

Indianapolis Police Dept. — Indianapolis, IN

Accident

End of Watch September 8, 1951

Age 37

Tour of Duty 9 yrs

Badge 634

The Vigil Panel 87 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 58

Incident

Detective Sergeant James Gaughan was killed in an automobile accident while responding to a disturbance call. The patrol car that Detective Sergeant Gaughan and his partner were riding in was struck by another vehicle at the intersection of North and Alabama streets. Both detectives were thrown to the pavement by the impact, killing Detective Sergeant Gaughan and injuring his partner. The driver of the vehicle was charged with reckless homicide and failure to stop at an intersection. Detective Sergeant Gaughan had served with the Indianapolis Police Department for nine years and was scheduled to leave on vacation with his family at the end of his shift.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, an 11-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-IN-0B8B3651
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.
Detective Sergeant Gaughan gave the Indianapolis Police Department 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Indianapolis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Sergeant Gaughan.

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

Agency

Department Indianapolis Police Dept.

Location Indianapolis, IN

Platform Identity ipd.marion.in.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 8, 1951

Tour of Duty 9 yrs

Age 37

Badge Number 634

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Detective Sergeant James T. Gaughan 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 IN, 151 of 503 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

At Indianapolis Police Dept., 19 of 59 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.2% of this agency's fallen.

Indianapolis Police Dept.

of 59 officers

32.2% Accident

IN — Statewide

151

of 503 officers

30% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers

31% Accident