Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Roy died of a heart attack after picking up an uncooperative suspect on a warrant. Sergeant Roy and two other officers went to execute the warrant and had to chase the suspect up some stairs. They then had to carry and drag the suspect who was combative to the squad car. At the courthouse, the suspect again had to be carried to the detention room. After returning to the police station, Sergeant Roy collapsed and was transported to the Winchester Hospital. A team of doctors worked on him for over an hour and a half.
Survivors
Sergeant Roy was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-7DBF3C9C- 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
29 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Roy gave the Winchester Police Department 29 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Winchester community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Roy.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant Roland J. Roy 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%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Roland J. Roy's cause is highlighted.
How Roland J. Roy Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Roland J. Roy is highlighted in May.