Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman David Brown suffered a fatal heart attack in Dorchester shortly after a short pursuit of a vehicle that was speeding on Columbia Road near Blue Hill Avenue.
While sitting inside the police vehicle he suffered a seizure while checking the vehicle registration and driver's license. His partner removed him from the vehicle and started CPR. He was taken to Boston City Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Patrolman Brown was a U.S Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War. He had served with the Boston Police Department for less than six years and was assigned to District 2, Roxbury.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, and five children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-B0797953- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Patrolman Brown gave the Boston Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Roxbury Crossing community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
David Ray Brown served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Patrolman David Ray Brown 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 Boston Police Department, 8 of 106 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 7.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. David Ray Brown's cause is highlighted.
How David Ray Brown Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. David Ray Brown is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
105 officers from Boston Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
