Thomas Atkins Dawson
Agency patch
Detective

Thomas Atkins Dawson

New Jersey State Police — West Trenton, NJ
Accident
End of Watch August 13, 1973
Age 31
Tour of Duty 7 yrs
Badge 2141
The Vigil Panel 112 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Detective Thomas Dawson was killed in a one-car automobile crash on State Highway 130 while working undercover. Shortly after 11:00 pm, Detective Dawson was driving south when his vehicle went out of control and struck two trees. Detective Dawson had served with the New Jersey State Police for almost 7 years, assigned to the Narcotics Bureau Central Unit. He was survived by his wife, two sons, mother, father, and brother. One of his sons became a trooper with the New Jersey State Police.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, two sons, mother, father, and brother.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-A45486F5
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Detective Dawson gave the New Jersey State Police 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Dawson.

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

Agency

Type State Police
Location West Trenton, NJ
Platform Identity njsp.nj.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 13, 1973
Tour of Duty 7 yrs
Age 31
Badge Number 2141
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Detective Thomas Atkins Dawson is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 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 39.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At New Jersey State Police, 53 of 84 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 63.1% of this agency's fallen.

New Jersey State Police
53
of 84 officers
63.1% Accident
NJ — Statewide
258
of 646 officers
39.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,756 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas Atkins Dawson's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Thomas Atkins Dawson Compares

Age at Death
31
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
7
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas Atkins Dawson is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897