Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Benjamin Townsend was struck and killed by Atlantic Coast Line Railroad passenger train No. 78.
He was conducting a foot patrol of the railroad tracks at approximately 11:00 pm when he was struck 70 feet north of the town's highway crossing.
Chief Townsend was survived by his wife, son, grandson, and two brothers.
Survivors
Chief Townsend was survived by his wife, son, grandson, and two brothers.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-E9AEF418- 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.
Chief of Police Townsend served with the Parkton Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Parkton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Townsend.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Benjamin Franklin Townsend 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.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Benjamin Franklin Townsend's cause is highlighted.
How Benjamin Franklin Townsend Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Benjamin Franklin Townsend is highlighted in Dec.