Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman William Ritter succumbed to injuries sustained after falling from a second-story porch while attempting to arrest a suspect for possessing narcotics.
Patrolman Ritter had served with the Ashtabula Police Department for almost three years.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-260623A3- 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 Ritter gave the Ashtabula Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Ashtabula community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Ritter.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman William Howard Ritter 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 OH, 318 of 991 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.1% of this state's fallen. That is 1.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Ashtabula Police Department, 1 of 4 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Howard Ritter's cause is highlighted.
How William Howard Ritter Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Howard Ritter is highlighted in Dec.
Others Who Wore This Badge
3 officers from Ashtabula Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
