Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Matthew Horton died as a result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.
Sergeant Horton was a United States Marine Corps veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and had served with the Ocean County Sheriff's Office for over 14 years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Sergeant Matthew Horton died on February 22, 2022 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 41.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-C8AD2A72- 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
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Sergeant Horton gave the Ocean County Sheriff's Office 14 years.
Thank you for your service to the Toms River community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Horton.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Matthew Horton served in the Marine Corps (2000â2005) before joining law enforcement.
Sergeant Matthew Horton is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NJ, 77 of 646 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 11.9% of this state's fallen. That is 2.8 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Matthew Horton's cause is highlighted.
How Matthew Horton Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Matthew Horton is highlighted in Feb.