Roll of Honor
Incident
Policeman Robert Simons was struck and killed by a Reading Railroad freight train while searching the freight yards near South 52nd Street in the Gray's Ferry area of Philadelphia. He and another officer were searching for a man wanted in Wilmington, Delaware, for a stabbing. Detectives in Wilmington believed the man was heading to Philadelphia on a freight train and alerted police to search for him. Policeman Simons and a second officer were both struck by the train. The other officer suffered non-life threatening injuries. Policeman Simons had served with the Philadelphia Police Department for 11 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-452BF73D- 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.
Policeman Simons gave the Philadelphia Police Department 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the Philadelphia community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Policeman Simons.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Policeman Robert Simons 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 PA, 417 of 1,261 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.1% of this state's fallen. That is 2.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Philadelphia Police Department, 110 of 378 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Robert Simons's cause is highlighted.
How Robert Simons Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Robert Simons is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
377 officers from Philadelphia Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
