Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper Michael Slagle died following a vehicle crash on Longmire Road, near Emory Road, in Knox County.
His patrol car slid off the roadway after striking a patch of ice. Despite being stuck in his vehicle, he was able to notify dispatchers of the crash and rescue crews were sent to the scene. A responding fire truck slid on the same patch of ice and flipped over on top of his patrol car while he was still inside.
At some point during the incident Trooper Slagle suffered a fatal heart attack.
Trooper Slagle had served with the Tennessee Highway Patrol for 28 years and was assigned to the State Supreme Court Detail. He had previously served with the Granger County Sheriff's Office for seven years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-9141F227- 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
35 years. You could have gone home.
Trooper Slagle gave the Tennessee Highway Patrol 35 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the people of Tennessee. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Slagle.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Trooper Michael Wayne Slagle 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 Tennessee Highway Patrol, 30 of 41 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 73.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Michael Wayne Slagle's cause is highlighted.
How Michael Wayne Slagle Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Michael Wayne Slagle is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
40 officers from Tennessee Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
