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Patrolman

William Bailey

Merchantville Police Department — Merchantville, NJ

Felonious

End of Watch October 29, 1923

Age 54

Tour of Duty 19 yrs

The Vigil Panel 46 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice

Incident

Patrolman William Bailey succumbed to a heart attack that doctors said was caused by a gunshot wound to his knee sustained when he was shot by one of five burglary suspects he was pursuing after he caught them breaking into the Merchantville Post Office. He was transported to Cooper Hospital in Camden, where he was recovering when he died almost two months later. All five suspects were apprehended and charged with murder after he died. Two were sentenced to 5 to 15 years. One was acquitted. Patrolman Bailey had served with the Merchantville Police Department for 19 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and three children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-NJ-B5EE2FD8
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.
Patrolman Bailey gave the Merchantville Police Department 19 years.
Thank you for your service to the Merchantville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Bailey.

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

Agency

Department Merchantville Police Department

Type Police Department

Location Merchantville, Camden County, NJ

Platform Identity mpd.camden.nj.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 29, 1923

Tour of Duty 19 yrs

Age 54

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Gun

Patrolman William Bailey is one of 17,558 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 53.9% of all 32,585 officers honored here.

In NJ, 229 of 646 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 35.4% of this state's fallen. That is 18.5 percentage points below the national rate of 53.9%.

Merchantville Police Department

of 1 officers

100% Felonious

NJ — Statewide

229

of 646 officers

35.4% Felonious

Nationwide

17,558

of 32,585 officers

53.9% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Bailey's cause is highlighted.

Felonious

17,558 (53.9%)

Accident

10,094 (31%)

Illness

3,037 (9.3%)

Cardiac

1,306 (4%)

Undetermined

334 (1%)

Suicide

256 (0.8%)

How William Bailey Compares

Age at End of Watch

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

Years of Service

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 8.5 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William Bailey is highlighted in Oct.

Jan

1,392

Feb

1,295

Mar

1,373

Apr

1,516

May

1,504

Jun

1,442

Jul

1,587

Aug

1,516

Sep

1,491

Oct

1,371

Nov

1,447

Dec

1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William Bailey was killed by gun.

Handgun

3,684

Gun

3,592

Gun; Unknown type

1,492

Shotgun

1,109

Rifle

935

Officer's handgun

909