Roll of Honor
Incident
Detective Richard McGilvery was accidentally shot and killed when his revolver fell out of his holster, hit the ground, and discharged, striking him, while he was chasing a burglary suspect on the Douglass Campus. Detective McGilvery and his partner were responding to a break-in in progress on Nichol Street. They split up and at 10:55 pm, his partner heard a single gunshot. He was transported to Saint Peter's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:43 pm. A single bullet had pierced his liver and lung. Detective McGilvery had served with the Rutgers University Police for seven years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and young son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-85995DA5- 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.
Detective McGilvery gave the Rutgers University Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the New Brunswick community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective McGilvery.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Detective Richard E. McGilvery 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 NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 8.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Richard E. McGilvery's cause is highlighted.
How Richard E. McGilvery Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Richard E. McGilvery is highlighted in Oct.