William Whitfield

Indianapolis Police Dept. — Indianapolis, IN

Felonious

End of Watch November 27, 1922

Age 37

Tour of Duty 12 yrs

Badge 276

The Vigil Panel 44 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 58

Incident

Officer William Whitfield succumbed to gunshot wounds suffered five months earlier while chasing a suspect. Officer Whitfield was in plain clothes on foot patrol when he entered an alley just west of 3500 North Collage Avenue and noticed a roughly-dressed man. He asked the man what he was doing there, and the man suddenly turned and ran, with Officer Whitfield in pursuit. During the chase, the man suddenly turned and fired several shots from a revolver, striking Officer Whitfield once in the abdomen. He was able to stumble back to the street, where he collapsed. Passers-by took him to a hospital where he lingered for five months before succumbing to his injuries. The suspect was never captured. Officer Whitfield had served with the Indianapolis Police Department for 12 years. He was survived by his two sisters. As he was initially buried in an unmarked grave, on November 30, 1998, he was given a full-honors funeral after members of the department contributed to the purchase of a headstone for his grave site. Officer Whitfield is the first known African-American law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in the state of Indiana and the first of three unsolved police murders in Indianapolis.

Survivors

He was survived by his two sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-IN-59E213F6
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.
Officer Whitfield gave the Indianapolis Police Department 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the Indianapolis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Whitfield.

— 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 November 27, 1922

Tour of Duty 12 yrs

Age 37

Badge Number 276

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Handgun; Revolver

Offender Case never solved

Officer William Whitfield is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In IN, 311 of 503 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 61.8% of this state's fallen. That is 7.6 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Indianapolis Police Dept., 38 of 59 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 64.4% of this agency's fallen.

Indianapolis Police Dept.

of 59 officers

64.4% Felonious

IN — Statewide

311

of 503 officers

61.8% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious