Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff Jay Phelps was accidentally shot and killed when his pistol fell from the seat of his car and discharged.
He was working on his department vehicle in a mechanic's garage in Jordan and had placed his revolver on the car's seat. The revolver discharged when it fell to the ground and the round struck him in the abdomen. He died from the wound the following day.
Sheriff Phelps was serving his first term as sheriff at the time of his death.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MT-F292C9DA- 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.
Sheriff Phelps served with the Garfield County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Jordan community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sheriff Phelps.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff Jay Byron Phelps 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 MT, 34 of 142 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.9% of this state's fallen. That is 7.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Jay Byron Phelps's cause is highlighted.
How Jay Byron Phelps Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Jay Byron Phelps is highlighted in Oct.