Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant George Williams was accidentally shot and killed by another officer as the two struggled with a suspect. Sergeant Williams had just gotten off duty, but was still in his uniform, when he observed two suspicious men park behind a business in the downtown area. As he and another off-duty officer attempted to question them the men fled in the vehicle, leading the officers on a short pursuit. The vehicle crashed into a tree a short distance away. One of the men began to struggle with the officers. The other officer's revolver was accidentally discharged during the struggle and Sergeant Williams was fatally wounded. Both men, who were out of prison on a work-release program, fled the scene but turned themselves in a short time later. Sergeant Williams was a U.S. Air Force veteran and had served with the Rolla Police Department for 2-1/2 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-7D01CB80- 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.
Sergeant Williams gave the Rolla Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Rolla 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
George M. Williams served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Sergeant George M. Williams 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 MO, 237 of 813 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.2% of this state's fallen. That is 1.8 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. George M. Williams's cause is highlighted.
How George M. Williams Compares
Offender Outcome
Not available
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. George M. Williams is highlighted in May.