Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Joseph White was struck and killed by a streetcar while walking his beat.
He was attempting to cross Galen Street, near Water Street, when he inadvertently stepped from behind one streetcar and into the path of an oncoming streetcar. The impact threw him approximately 30 feet. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where he died at about 10:15 pm.
Patrolman White had served with the Watertown Police Department for five years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-9743F0D9- 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.
Patrolman White gave the Watertown Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Watertown community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Joseph B. White 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 MA, 158 of 469 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.7% of this state's fallen. That is 2.7 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Watertown Police Department, 1 of 4 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joseph B. White's cause is highlighted.
How Joseph B. White Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph B. White is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
3 officers from Watertown Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
