Mark Kevin Murphy
Sergeant

Mark Kevin Murphy

Accident
End of Watch September 1, 1988
Age 35
Tour of Duty 10 yrs
Badge 702
The Vigil Panel 133 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant Mark Murphy was accidentally shot and killed by other officers while executing a narcotics search warrant on a residence. The officers had information that automatic weapons may have been present in the house. As the point man, Sergeant Murphy approached the house first on his hands and knees to place hydraulic jacks in the door to aid in a quick entry. As the jack expanded it cause a loud cracking noise which sounded like gunfire. Two members of the entry team behind Sergeant Muprhy, believing the team was under fire, opened fire. At the same time Sergeant Murphy started to stand and was struck by the gunfire and fatally wounded. Sergeant Murphy had served with the agency for approximately 10 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and daughters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MD-39254CCA
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.
Sergeant Murphy gave the Prince George's County Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Palmer Park community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Murphy.

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

Agency

Location Hyattsville, MD
Platform Identity pgcpd.pg.md.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 1, 1988
Tour of Duty 10 yrs
Age 35
Badge Number 702
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Sergeant Mark Kevin Murphy 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 MD, 140 of 377 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 37.1% of this state's fallen. That is 6.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Prince George's County Police Dept., 11 of 30 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 36.7% of this agency's fallen.

Prince George's County Police Dept.
11
of 30 officers
36.7% Accident
MD — Statewide
140
of 377 officers
37.1% 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. Mark Kevin Murphy'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 Mark Kevin Murphy Compares

Age at End of Watch
35
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
10
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Mark Kevin Murphy is highlighted in Sep.

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