Oscar Leaverton
Agency patch
Deputy

Oscar Leaverton

Kent County Sheriff's Office — Chestertown, MD
Cardiac Veteran
End of Watch June 29, 1974
Age 57
Tour of Duty 13 yrs
The Vigil Panel 114 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Oscar Leaverton died after struggling with a suspect he was attempting to arrest in the town of Betterton. He collapsed as returned to his patrol car. Deputy Leaverton was a U.S. Army Air Corps veteran.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, son, daughter, three grandchildren, mother, and three sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MD-0965E4B4
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.
Deputy Leaverton gave the Kent County Sheriff's Office 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the Chestertown community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Location Chestertown, MD
Platform Identity kcso.kent.md.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch June 29, 1974
Tour of Duty 13 yrs
Age 57
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac
Weapon Person
Offender Apprehended

Military Service

Oscar Leaverton served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.

Deputy Oscar Leaverton 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 MD, 22 of 377 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5.8% of this state's fallen. That is 1.8 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.

Kent County Sheriff's Office
1
of 1 officers
100% Cardiac
MD — Statewide
22
of 377 officers
5.8% Cardiac
Nationwide
1,306
of 32,508 officers
4% Cardiac

National Cause Distribution

How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Oscar Leaverton'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 Oscar Leaverton Compares

Age at End of Watch
57
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
13
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

Offender Outcome

Apprehended

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Oscar Leaverton is highlighted in Jun.

Jan
124
Feb
105
Mar
99
Apr
116
May
115
Jun
95
Jul
94
Aug
104
Sep
109
Oct
121
Nov
113
Dec
111

Incident Location