Perry Critchell
Sergeant

Perry Critchell

MI State Police — Lansing, MI
Accident
End of Watch March 20, 1954
Age 43
Tour of Duty 20 yrs
The Vigil Panel 90 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant Perry Critchell was killed in an automobile crash when another vehicle ran a stop sign on U.S. Highway 27 (present-day Old U.S. 27). Sergeant Critchell and the Gogebic County Sheriff were returning from Lansing when a vehicle turned in front of them. Sergeant Crtchell was unable to stop. Sergeant Critchell died instantly. The Sheriff and driver of the other vehicle were taken to a hospital in Grayling with serious injuries. Sergeant Critchell had served with the Michigan State Police for 20 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, son, daughter, four brothers, and two sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-A8A49429
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 Perry. 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

20 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Critchell gave the Michigan State Police 20 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the people of Michigan. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Critchell.

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

Agency

Department MI State Police
Location Lansing, MI
Platform Identity msp.mi.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch March 20, 1954
Tour of Duty 20 yrs
Age 43
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Sergeant Perry Critchell 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 MI State Police, 29 of 57 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50.9% of this agency's fallen.

MI State Police
29
of 57 officers
50.9% Accident
MI — Statewide
229
of 718 officers
31.9% 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. Perry Critchell'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 Perry Critchell Compares

Age at End of Watch
43
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
20
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Perry Critchell is highlighted in Mar.

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

Incident Location