Walter Starrett

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department — Baltimore, MD

Felonious

End of Watch December 24, 1917

Age 34

Tour of Duty 4 yrs

The Vigil Panel 33 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 21

Incident

Detective Walter Starrett was shot and killed when he encountered a suspicious individual in the freight yard at Mitchell, Indiana. The 30-year-old shooter said he was walking through the freight yard to his nearby home when he came upon a long freight train that had stopped. He decided to crawl through a boxcar to the other side instead of taking a long walk around the train. He said he needed to get home quickly because he had medicine that his young daughter required as soon as possible. As he entered the boxcar, a man yelled at him and then started shooting. He then chased him, shooting at him as he ran. When hit by a bullet in his hip, he pulled his own revolver and shot at the man until he dropped. He then crawled to his home. The suspect was charged with murder, but there is no further information. Detective Starrett had served with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department for four years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-RR-3F097199
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.
Detective Starrett gave the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Baltimore community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Starrett.

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

Agency

Department Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department

Location Baltimore, MD

Platform Identity borpd.rr.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 24, 1917

Tour of Duty 4 yrs

Age 34

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Handgun; .38 caliber

Offender Charged with murder

Detective Walter Starrett is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In MD, 195 of 377 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 51.7% of this state's fallen. That is 2.5 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.

At Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department, 13 of 22 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 59.1% of this agency's fallen.

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department

of 22 officers

59.1% Felonious

MD — Statewide

195

of 377 officers

51.7% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious