David Henry
Agency patch
Correctional Officer

David Henry

Illness Veteran
End of Watch September 14, 2021
Age 59
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
The Vigil Panel 177 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Correctional Officer David Henry died as a result of contracting COVID-19 while serving at the Pennington County Jail at 307 Saint Joseph Street in Rapid City.

Officer Henry was a United States Coast Guard veteran who had served with the Pennington County Sheriff's Office for ten years and previously served with the Weber County Sheriff's Office in Utah.

COVID-19 and Law Enforcement

Correctional Officer David Henry died on September 14, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 59.

He is one of 884 officers honored here.

Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.

Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife, son, two daughters, sister, brother, and three grandchildren.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-SD-55D5183D
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

The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Correctional Officer Henry gave the Pennington County Sheriff's Office 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the Rapid City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Correctional Officer Henry.

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

Agency

Location Rapid City, SD
Platform Identity pcso.pennington.sd.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 14, 2021
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
Age 59
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness

Military Service

David Henry served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.

Correctional Officer David Henry is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In SD, 2 of 62 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.2% of this state's fallen. That is 5.9 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.

Pennington County Sheriff's Office
1
of 1 officers
100% Illness
SD — Statewide
2
of 62 officers
3.2% Illness
Nationwide
2,974
of 32,508 officers
9.1% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. David Henry'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 David Henry Compares

Age at End of Watch
59
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
11
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.9 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. David Henry is highlighted in Sep.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
185
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
181
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
291
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location