Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Smith died of injuries he received two days earlier when he was involved in an automobile accident.
Patrolman Smith was riding in an ambulance, escorting a sandhog (a worker responsible for digging out the tunnel under the East River for the Midtown Tunnel) to the decompression lock at Forty-Second Street and East River Drive, so the worker could be treated for the bends. At Fiftieth Street the ambulance swerved to avoid hitting a car and struck a parked truck, seriously injuring Patrolman Smith and the driver of the ambulance.
Patrolman Smith was removed to Bellevue Hospital where he died two days later from his injuries.
Patrolman Smith had served with the New York City Police Department for 10 years and was assigned to the 24th Precinct.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-6F6B8DA7- 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.
Patrolman Smith gave the New York City Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Smith.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Percy Smith 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 NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At New York City Police Department, 283 of 1237 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 22.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Percy Smith's cause is highlighted.
How Percy Smith Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Percy Smith is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1,236 officers from New York City Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
