William Jourdan
Sergeant

William Jourdan

Baltimore Police Dept. — Baltimore, MD
Felonious
End of Watch October 14, 1857
The Vigil Panel 2 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant William Jourdan was shot and killed during violence on the day of the first city council election. A subject had walked by a group of men standing at a polling place and fired a shot at them. The group chased the man through a store but returned to the polling place after the man escaped. During the commotion several officers came to the scene. Several minutes later shots were fired at the corner of High Street and French Street and Sergeant Jourdan was struck. Sergeant Jourdan was assigned to the Middle District.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MD-491A5A5F
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

169 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Sergeant Jourdan served with the Baltimore City Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Baltimore community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Location Baltimore, MD
Platform Identity baltpd.baltimore.md.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 14, 1857
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun; Unknown type
Offender Not available

Sergeant William Jourdan is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In MD, 195 of 377 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 51.7% of this state's fallen. That is 2.5 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.

At Baltimore Police Dept., 80 of 151 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53% of this agency's fallen.

Baltimore Police Dept.
80
of 151 officers
53% Felonious
MD — Statewide
195
of 377 officers
51.7% Felonious
Nationwide
17,623
of 32,508 officers
54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Jourdan'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 William Jourdan Compares

Offender Outcome

Not available

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William Jourdan is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,517
May
1,505
Jun
1,443
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,516
Sep
1,553
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William Jourdan was killed by gun; unknown type.

Gun; Unknown type
5,083
Handgun
2,077
Shotgun
922
Officer's handgun
909
Automobile; Alcohol involved
530
Rifle
518

Incident Location