Peter M. Nikitas
Agency patch
Patrolman

Peter M. Nikitas

Fitchburg Police Department — Fitchburg, MA
Accident
End of Watch August 27, 1978
Age 28
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
Badge 56
The Vigil Panel 120 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman Peter Nikitas was struck and killed by a westbound Boston and Maine Railroad freight train while investigating the theft of police equipment. The equipment had been stolen from another officer the previous night. Patrolman Nikitas was searching for the equipment along the train tracks in the downtown area when he was struck. Patrolman Nikitas had served with the Fitchburg Police Department for one year.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and two children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-CE716ECA
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

You barely got started.
Patrolman Nikitas gave the Fitchburg Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Fitchburg community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Nikitas.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Fitchburg, MA
Platform Identity fpd.worcester.ma.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 27, 1978
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
Age 28
Badge Number 56
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Patrolman Peter M. Nikitas 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 Fitchburg Police Department, 2 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.

Fitchburg Police Department
2
of 2 officers
100% Accident
MA — Statewide
158
of 469 officers
33.7% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Peter M. Nikitas's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Peter M. Nikitas Compares

Age at End of Watch
28
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
1
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Peter M. Nikitas is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

1 officer from Fitchburg Police Department are honored on badge.nw.