Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff Henry Burkhalter was accidentally shot and killed when a deputy's shotgun discharged.
Sheriff Burkhalter was riding with a posse in search of several family members wanted for murder. One of the deputies was dismounting his horse when his shotgun was knocked against the saddle. The impact forced one of the hammers down and caused the shotgun to discharge. The blast struck Sheriff Burkhalter in the chest.
Sheriff Burkhalter had served with the Washington Parish Sheriff's Department for 7 years.
He is buried in Ellis Cemetery, Franklinton, Washington Parrish, Louisiana.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and six children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-LA-92FA8D2A- 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
127 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Sheriff Burkhalter gave the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the Franklinton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff Henry S. Burkhalter 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 LA, 180 of 595 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.3% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Washington Parish Sheriff's Dept., 2 of 7 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Henry S. Burkhalter's cause is highlighted.
How Henry S. Burkhalter Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Henry S. Burkhalter is highlighted in Apr.
Others Who Wore This Badge
6 officers from Washington Parish Sheriff's Dept. are honored on badge.nw.
