William W. Harmer
Agency patch
Patrolman

William W. Harmer

Scranton Police Department — Scranton, PA
Accident
End of Watch January 23, 1937
Age 41
Tour of Duty 9 yrs
The Vigil Panel 72 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman William Harmer was killed in a motorcycle accident while on patrol at North Washington Avenue and Ash Street at 5:10 pm. Patrolman Harmer had served with the Scranton Police Department for nine years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and three children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-850D417B
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 Harmer gave the Scranton Police Department 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Scranton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Harmer.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Scranton, PA
Platform Identity spd.lackawanna.pa.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 23, 1937
Tour of Duty 9 yrs
Age 41
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Patrolman William W. Harmer 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 Scranton Police Department, 4 of 11 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 36.4% of this agency's fallen.

Scranton Police Department
4
of 11 officers
36.4% Accident
PA — Statewide
417
of 1,261 officers
33.1% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William W. Harmer's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How William W. Harmer Compares

Age at End of Watch
41
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
9
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William W. Harmer is highlighted in Jan.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location