Roll of Honor
Joseph Howard "Butch" Tomlinson, Jr.
Incident
Police Officer Butch Tomlinson was killed in an automobile crash involving an ambulance on Church Street at 9:43 a.m.
Officer Tomlinson was running radar when his patrol car was struck on the driver's side by the ambulance while he was making a U-turn.
Officer Tomlinson was a United States Navy veteran who had served with the Murfreesboro Police Department for five years and previously served with the Sommerville (South Carolina) Police Department.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two daughters, parents, two sisters, and three grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-AAE30838- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Police Officer Tomlinson gave the Murfreesboro Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the Murfreesboro community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Joseph Howard "Butch" Tomlinson, Jr. served in the Navy (1985â1994) before joining law enforcement.
Police Officer Joseph Howard "Butch" Tomlinson, Jr. 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 Murfreesboro Police Department, 3 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joseph Howard "Butch" Tomlinson, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Joseph Howard "Butch" Tomlinson, Jr. Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph Howard "Butch" Tomlinson, Jr. is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from Murfreesboro Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
