Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police William Collins suffered a fatal heart attack during a high-speed chase on Route 183, near the Berkshire Garden Center, in Interlaken. The car he was chasing was being driven by two teenage escapees from the Shirley Industrial School. They had stolen gasoline in Marlboro and Great Barrington. Both were taken into custody by the state police. Chief Collins had served with the Stockbridge Police Department for 12 years and had been chief of police for three years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, three sisters, and a brother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-61250F38- 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.
Chief of Police Collins gave the Stockbridge Police Department 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the Stockbridge community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Collins.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police William J. Collins is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In MA, 44 of 469 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 9.4% of this state's fallen. That is 5.4 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Stockbridge Police Department, 2 of 3 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William J. Collins's cause is highlighted.
How William J. Collins Compares
Offender Outcome
Not available
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. William J. Collins is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Stockbridge Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
