Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman George Ham was killed while pursuing a speeding car. He was chasing a car west on Linden Avenue (modern-day Doctor MLK Jr Avenue) at a high rate of speed. As his patrol car crossed the intersection with Walnut Street it was struck by a car being driven south on Walnut Street. Patrolman Ham was killed instantly and three occupants of the other car were also killed. Patrolman Ham had served with the Memphis Police Department for just 10 days.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-32D9E01B- 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.
Patrolman Ham served with the Memphis Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Memphis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Ham.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman George W. Ham 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 Memphis Police Department, 25 of 94 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. George W. Ham's cause is highlighted.
How George W. Ham Compares
Offender Outcome
Not available
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. George W. Ham is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
93 officers from Memphis Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
