William Andrew Smith

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Police Department — Jacksonville, FL

Felonious

End of Watch August 27, 1930

Tour of Duty 7 yrs

The Vigil Panel 60 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 6

Incident

Location: North Carolina Weapon: Handgun Offender: Sentenced to life

Sergeant William Smith was shot and killed by a hobo in the Milan freight yards in Fayetteville, North Carolina, between 5:00 am and 6:00 am.

Sergeant Smith was patrolling the yards before leaving on a train to Rocky Mount when the shooting took place. The suspect was able to flee the scene and on September 3rd, 1930, shot and killed Detective Lyle Clements, who was also a detective with the railroad, in the Dunlop rail yards in Chesterfield County, Virginia.

Detective Clements was shot and killed in a coal car where he discovered the hobo and attempted to arrest him. The man shot Detective Clements four times. Detective Clements was able to return fire and wound the suspect in the leg. After the shooting the suspect threw his body from the moving train. The man, 28, was arrested two weeks later in Charleston, South Carolina, and confessed to both murders. On July 7, 1929, he had escaped from a prison work camp in Virginia where he was serving a five year sentence for malicious shooting on July 2, 1927. On October 23, 1930, he was convicted of Detective Clements' murder and sentenced to life in the Virginia Penitentiary.

Sergeant Smith had been with the agency for seven years and had previously served as a member of the Fayetteville Police Department.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and two young children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-RR-8EEAC9E7
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.
Sergeant Smith gave the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the Jacksonville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Smith.

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

Agency

Department Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Police Department

Location Jacksonville, FL

Platform Identity aclrpd.rr.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 27, 1930

Tour of Duty 7 yrs

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Handgun

Offender Sentenced to life

Sergeant William Andrew Smith 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 FL, 539 of 1,008 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53.5% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.

At Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Police Department, 6 of 7 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 85.7% of this agency's fallen.

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Police Department

of 7 officers

85.7% Felonious

FL — Statewide

539

of 1,008 officers

53.5% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious