Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Richard Gallivan was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow officer while chasing burglary suspects. The round struck Patrolman Gallivan in the neck. His last words exonerated his fellow officer from any blame in the shooting. Patrolman Gallivan had served with the Boston Police Department for seven years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife brother and sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-F2D0F404- 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.
Patrolman Gallivan gave the Boston Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the Roxbury Crossing community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Gallivan.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Richard J. Gallivan 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 Boston Police Department, 31 of 106 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Richard J. Gallivan's cause is highlighted.
How Richard J. Gallivan Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Richard J. Gallivan is highlighted in Feb.
Others Who Wore This Badge
105 officers from Boston Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
