Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Oscar Christensen was accidentally shot and killed by a railroad detective along the tracks of the Lake Shore railroad between Michigan and St. Joseph Streets. Officer Christensen was investigating vandalism in the railroad yards at the time. There had been reports of many hobos in the yards, and it was presumed that one of them was responsible for the killing. Several hours after the killing, a railroad detective was arrested for his murder but claimed it was a mistake. The detective was charged with his murder, but all charges were dropped after two mistrials. Officer Christensen had served with the South Bend Police Department for over a year and had previously served as a guard with the Michigan City penitentiary for four years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IN-2582A76A- 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
129 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Officer Christensen gave the South Bend Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the South Bend community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Oscar W. Christensen 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 South Bend Police Dept., 4 of 15 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Oscar W. Christensen's cause is highlighted.
How Oscar W. Christensen Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Oscar W. Christensen is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
14 officers from South Bend Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw.
