Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff Mitchell succumbed to injuries sustained earlier in the day when he fell under the wheels of a train in Tupelo, Oklahoma. He was returning from taking prisoners to the state penitentiary and was attempting to board the moving train when he fell underneath. One of his legs was crushed and later amputated by a doctor. Sheriff Mitchell succumbed to his injuries that evening.
Sheriff Mitchell was survived by his wife and daughter.
Survivors
Sheriff Mitchell was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OK-FFB33D17- 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.
Sheriff Mitchell served with the Pontotoc County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Ada community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sheriff Mitchell.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff Lem E. 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 OK, 135 of 582 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.2% of this state's fallen. That is 7.8 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Pontotoc County Sheriff's Office, 2 of 5 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 40% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Lem E. Mitchell's cause is highlighted.
How Lem E. Mitchell Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Lem E. Mitchell is highlighted in Feb.
Others Who Wore This Badge
4 officers from Pontotoc County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
