Roll of Honor
Incident
Lieutenant Thomas Sanderson suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after struggling with a robbery subject at a service station at the intersection of West Hutchinson Street and South Braddock Avenue. Lieutenant Sanderson and his partner entered the service station and struggled with the subject who resisted arrest and kicked Lieutenant Sanderson in his chest. He took the subject to the police station as his partner went to the hospital to get looked at for an injury. As he was questioning the subject he suffered a fatal heart attack. The subject had violated his parole and was responsible for several armed robberies in Allegheny County. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 7-15 years in prison after completing a five-year sentence for violating his parole. The subject died in prison on July 7, 1963. Lieutenant Sanderson had served with the Edgewood Borough Police Department for 17 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his mother, daughter, and siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-A21E8695- 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.
Lieutenant Sanderson gave the Edgewood Borough Police Department 17 years.
Thank you for your service to the Edgewood community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Lieutenant Sanderson.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Lieutenant Thomas Earl Sanderson is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In PA, 118 of 1,261 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 9.4% of this state's fallen. That is 5.4 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Edgewood Borough Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas Earl Sanderson's cause is highlighted.
How Thomas Earl Sanderson Compares
Offender Outcome
Died in prison
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas Earl Sanderson is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Edgewood Borough Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
