Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer William Putnam suffered a fatal heart attack several hours after struggling with an armed suspect at a domestic disturbance call at 616 West Gilford Road.
Officer Putnam had served with the Caro Police Department for 18 years and had previously served with the Tuscola County Sheriff's Office.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-1EA37B60- 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.
Police Officer Putnam gave the Caro Police Department 18 years.
Thank you for your service to the Caro community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Putnam.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer William O. Putnam 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 MI, 39 of 718 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5.4% of this state's fallen. That is 1.4 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William O. Putnam's cause is highlighted.
How William O. Putnam Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. William O. Putnam is highlighted in Dec.