Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Franklin Smith was killed when he was run over by a fire wagon being pulled by horses. He and several other mounted officers were responding in front of the fire wagon, clearing a path while en route to a fire. When Officer Smith stopped to hold back a crowd, his horse backed up and was struck by one of the horses pulling the wagon, knocking him to the ground. The wagon then ran over Officer Smith. Officer Smith had served with the Detroit Police Department for two years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-8BBDD674- 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 Smith gave the Detroit Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Smith.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Franklin M. Smith 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 MI, 229 of 718 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Detroit Police Department, 58 of 250 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Franklin M. Smith's cause is highlighted.
How Franklin M. Smith Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Franklin M. Smith is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
249 officers from Detroit Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
