William Franklin James, II
Agency patch
Deputy Sheriff

William Franklin James, II

Accident Veteran
End of Watch September 5, 2003
Age 33
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
The Vigil Panel 151 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Sheriff William James was killed in an automobile crash while responding to a domestic violence call at 8:30 p.m.

He was traveling on Rand Road when his patrol car collided with another car head-on near Wood Oak Road. He was transported to WakeMed Hospital, where he died a short time later.

Deputy James was a U.S. Navy veteran and had served with the Wake County Sheriff's Office for three years. He also had previously served with the Rockingham Police Department, the Sunset Beach Police Department, and the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife, son, mother, brother, and sister.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-83A9A18B
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.
Deputy Sheriff James gave the Wake County Sheriff's Office 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Raleigh community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Location Raleigh, NC
Platform Identity wcso.wake.nc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 5, 2003
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
Age 33
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

William Franklin James, II served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.

Deputy Sheriff William Franklin James, II 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 NC, 205 of 664 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.9% of this state's fallen.

At Wake County Sheriff's Office, 2 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.

Wake County Sheriff's Office
2
of 6 officers
33.3% Accident
NC — Statewide
205
of 664 officers
30.9% 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. William Franklin James, II'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 Franklin James, II Compares

Age at End of Watch
33
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
3
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Franklin James, II is highlighted in Sep.

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