Roll of Honor
Incident
Marshal Sherman Beathard succumbed to injuries sustained eight days earlier when his patrol car collided with a train at a crossing on Main Street.
He had just arrested three men for being drunk in public and was taking them back to the jail to book them. Witnesses stated that as the patrol car neared the crossing it suddenly swerved and it looked as though Marshal Beathard had been distracted by the men inside of the vehicle.
Two of the prisoners and Marshal Beathard were all thrown from the vehicle. The two prisoners were killed instantly. Marshal Beathard was taken to a hospital in Columbus, where he remained until succumbing to his injuries eight days later. The third inmate suffered minor injuries.
Marshal Beathard had been sworn in as marshal only 1 week before the accident. He had served as a police officer with the London Police Department for the previous 6 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-75A3A9BC- 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.
Marshal Beathard gave the London Police Department 6 years.
Thank you for your service to the London community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Marshal Beathard.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Marshal Sherman Beathard 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%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Sherman Beathard's cause is highlighted.
How Sherman Beathard Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Sherman Beathard is highlighted in Jan.