Roll of Honor

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Town Marshal

William Henry Hatfield

South West City Police Department — South West City, MO

Felonious

End of Watch August 10, 1927

Age 61

Tour of Duty 8 mo

The Vigil Panel 53 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice

Incident

Town Marshal William Hatfield was shot and killed while on patrol at approximately 1:00 am. His body was found in the middle of the street with evidence of a struggle.

Marshal Hatfield was a well known pastor in the county.

Survivors

He had been appointed as town marshal only eight months earlier and was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-MO-C4491EC9
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.
Town Marshal Hatfield served with the South West City Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the South West City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Town Marshal Hatfield.

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

Agency

Department South West City Police Department

Location South West City, MO

Platform Identity swpd.mcdonald.mo.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 10, 1927

Tour of Duty 8 mo

Age 61

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Cause Detail Gunfire

Weapon Gun; Unknown type

Town Marshal William Henry Hatfield is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In MO, 516 of 813 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 63.5% of this state's fallen. That is 9.3 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

South West City Police Department

of 1 officers

100% Felonious

MO — Statewide

516

of 813 officers

63.5% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Henry Hatfield'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 William Henry Hatfield Compares

Age at End of Watch

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

Years of Service

0.7

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 8.5 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William Henry Hatfield is highlighted in Aug.

Jan

1,392

Feb

1,295

Mar

1,373

Apr

1,517

May

1,505

Jun

1,443

Jul

1,587

Aug

1,516

Sep

1,553

Oct

1,371

Nov

1,447

Dec

1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William Henry Hatfield was killed by gun; unknown type.

Gun; Unknown type

5,083

Handgun

2,077

Shotgun

922

Officer's handgun

909

Automobile; Alcohol involved

530

Rifle

518