Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Styers succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained three days earlier when he was shot in a case of mistaken identity.
Deputy Styers and a group of deputies were raiding a still near the border of Madison and Haywood counties. Unbeknownst to the deputies, another group of officers from the other county were also conducting a raid on the still. During the raids, one of the groups of officers opened fire, thinking the other group were the suspects. That group of officers returned fire. Deputy Styers and four officers were wounded.
Deputy Styers was survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters, five brothers, and one sister.
Survivors
Deputy Styers was survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters, five brothers, and one sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-0F9A2D29- 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.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew W.. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Styers served with the Madison County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Denmark community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Styers.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff W. L. Styers 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 TN, 191 of 769 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.8% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Madison County Sheriff's Office, 3 of 8 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 37.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. W. L. Styers's cause is highlighted.
How W. L. Styers Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. W. L. Styers is highlighted in Jul.
Others Who Wore This Badge
7 officers from Madison County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
