Roll of Honor
Roy Leonard Pederson
Incident
Chief of Police Roy Pederson was killed in an aircraft accident while he and two members of the city council were en route to Owatonna to inspect law enforcement facilities at 7:50 a.m. The two council members and the pilot were also killed. The snowstorm contributed to the plane crash 2 miles northwest of Winger. Chief Pederson was a United States Army veteran and had served with the Thief River Falls Police Department for ten years. He was serving as the chief for four months.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MN-2FD66402- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Chief of Police Pederson gave the Thief River Falls Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Thief River Falls community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Roy Leonard Pederson served in the Army (1961â1963) before joining law enforcement.
Chief of Police Roy Leonard Pederson 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 MN, 84 of 293 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.7% of this state's fallen. That is 2.3 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Thief River Falls Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Roy Leonard Pederson's cause is highlighted.
How Roy Leonard Pederson Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Roy Leonard Pederson is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Thief River Falls Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
