Roll of Honor
Wayne Mitchell
Incident
Correction Officer Wayne Mitchell was killed when the prisoner transport van he was riding in was involved in an accident on I-71, under the overpass for Ohio 56 in Madison County.
He was one of three officers transporting two prisoners to a medical facility when the van slid on a patch of ice and struck a concrete retaining wall.
Officer Mitchell had served with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for 15 years.
Officer Mitchell, a U.S. Army Vietnam War veteran, was selected as Correctional Officer of the Year for 2001 by a vote of his fellow officers after they withdrew their own names from consideration.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-4F94C346- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Correction Officer Mitchell gave the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction 15 years.
Thank you for your service to the Columbus community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Wayne Mitchell served in the Army (1967â1969) before joining law enforcement.
Correction Officer Wayne Mitchell 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 Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, 5 of 26 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 19.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Wayne Mitchell's cause is highlighted.
How Wayne Mitchell Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Wayne Mitchell is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
25 officers from Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
