Incident
Chief of Police Frederick Towle suffered a fatal heart attack while attempting to arrest a man for being drunk in public.
Chief Towle was off duty at the time and walking down Main Street with his teenage daughter when he observed the intoxicated man in a vehicle on Main Street. After removing the man from the car to arrest him, a struggle ensued. During the struggle, Chief Towle collapsed.
Chief Towle had served with the Colebrook Police Department for 10 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NH-B30A55A5- 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 Towle gave the Colebrook Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Colebrook community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Towle.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police Frederick Thomas Towle is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NH, 14 of 59 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 23.7% of this state's fallen. That is 19.7 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Frederick Thomas Towle's cause is highlighted.
How Frederick Thomas Towle Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Frederick Thomas Towle is highlighted in Jun.