William Thomas Cody
Agency patch
Constable

William Thomas Cody

Butler County Sheriff's Office — El Dorado, KS
Felonious
End of Watch June 2, 1885
Age 34
The Vigil Panel 8 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Constable Cody was shot and killed in the line of duty while serving as a constable in Beaumont. A fight among railroad workers occurred on the Kansas City and Southwestern Road near the village of Beaumont during which one of the bosses, a railroad foreman, shot and wounded one of the workers. Later that evening, Constable Thomas Cody located the suspect and attempted to arrest the man who then shot and killed Constable Cody. A $950 reward was put up for information leading to the arrest of the suspect, who was later apprehended.

Survivors

Constable Cody was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-KS-8B9BE4B3
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

141 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Constable Cody served with the Butler County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the El Dorado community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Location El Dorado, KS
Platform Identity bcso.butler.ks.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch June 2, 1885
Age 34
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun; Unknown type
Offender Apprehended

Constable William Thomas Cody 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 KS, 237 of 335 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 70.7% of this state's fallen. That is 16.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Butler County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 4 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 25% of this agency's fallen.

Butler County Sheriff's Office
1
of 4 officers
25% Felonious
KS — Statewide
237
of 335 officers
70.7% Felonious
Nationwide
17,623
of 32,508 officers
54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Thomas Cody'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 Thomas Cody Compares

Age at End of Watch
34
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

Offender Outcome

Apprehended

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William Thomas Cody is highlighted in Jun.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,517
May
1,505
Jun
1,443
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,516
Sep
1,553
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William Thomas Cody was killed by gun; unknown type.

Gun; Unknown type
5,083
Handgun
2,077
Shotgun
922
Officer's handgun
909
Automobile; Alcohol involved
530
Rifle
518