Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Soule and Officer Jon Ryckman were killed when their police aircraft collided with another aircraft over the Detroit River. Officer Byron Soule Jr.and Officer Jon Ryckman were members of the Detroit Police Department’s aviation unit; Officer Ryckman as a pilot and Officer Soule, Jr., as an observer. Both officers had been working together for about a year and were primarily assigned to the airspace over Detroit’s eastside neighborhoods. Around 12:45 a.m. on Friday, June 28, 1974, they were patrolling the east side and began heading towards Belle Island, a municipal park that sits on the Detroit River along the border with Windsor, in Canada. As they approached airspace on the river, a D-18 Beechcraft began to have engine problems and descended into an emergency landing. As the owner and pilot of the aircraft did this, he struck the officers' helicopter hard but continued his descent and crash landed at the Detroit City Airport. Officers Ryckman and Soule, Jr. plunged straight into the river, dying either in the air or upon impact. The Detroit Police Department hastily organized a rescue effort and were able to find Officer Ryckman, a three-year veteran of DPD, soon after by dredging the river. It took through the morning to locate Officer Soule, Jr. The officers were the first fatalities of the department's aviation unit. Officer Soule, Jr. was a nine-year veteran of the force.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-9315ED58- 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.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Byron. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Police Officer Soule gave the Detroit Police Department 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Soule.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Byron B. Soule, Jr. 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. Byron B. Soule, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Byron B. Soule, Jr. Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Byron B. Soule, Jr. is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
249 officers from Detroit Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
