Roll of Honor

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Deputy Sheriff

William T. Cross

Weakley County Sheriff's Office — Dresden, TN

Felonious

End of Watch July 1, 1926

Age 58

Tour of Duty 21 yrs

The Vigil Panel 51 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 2

Incident

Deputy Sheriff William Cross was shot and killed by a man after responding to reports that the man was beating his wife and children. The suspect, who was released from an insane asylum two years earlier, was shot and killed when he fired at members of a posse searching for him.

Deputy Cross was survived by his wife and four children.

Survivors

Deputy Cross was survived by his wife and four children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-TN-42484605
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

21 years. You could have gone home.
Deputy Sheriff Cross gave the Weakley County Sheriff's Office 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Dresden community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Cross.

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

Agency

Department Weakley County Sheriff's Office

Location Dresden, TN

Platform Identity wcso.weakley.tn.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 1, 1926

Tour of Duty 21 yrs

Age 58

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Cause Detail Gunfire

Weapon Rifle

Offender Shot and killed

Deputy Sheriff William T. Cross 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 TN, 498 of 769 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 64.8% of this state's fallen. That is 10.6 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Weakley County Sheriff's Office, 3 of 3 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.

Weakley County Sheriff's Office

of 3 officers

100% Felonious

TN — Statewide

498

of 769 officers

64.8% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William T. Cross'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 William T. Cross Compares

Age at End of Watch

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

Years of Service

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 8.5 years

Offender Outcome

Shot and killed

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William T. Cross is highlighted in Jul.

Jan

1,392

Feb

1,295

Mar

1,373

Apr

1,517

May

1,505

Jun

1,443

Jul

1,587

Aug

1,516

Sep

1,553

Oct

1,371

Nov

1,447

Dec

1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William T. Cross was killed by rifle.

Gun; Unknown type

5,083

Handgun

2,077

Shotgun

922

Officer's handgun

909

Automobile; Alcohol involved

530

Rifle

518

Others Who Wore This Badge

2 officers from Weakley County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.