Emerson Shelton
Agency patch
Deputy Sheriff

Emerson Shelton

Greene County Sheriff's Office — Greeneville, TN
Accident
End of Watch September 24, 1972
Age 51
Tour of Duty 6 yrs
The Vigil Panel 110 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Shelton and Constable Beauford Rader were killed when their vehicle was struck by a car that was fleeing Greenville Police Department officers. Deputy Shelton and Constable Rader were performing administrative duties and were not involved in the pursuit when the the suspect vehicle ran a red light and struck their car. The occupants of the suspect vehicle were apprehended at the scene. Deputy Shelton had been with the agency for six years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-AD73123E
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.
Deputy Sheriff Shelton gave the Greene County Sheriff's Office 6 years.
Thank you for your service to the Greeneville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Shelton.

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

Agency

Location Greeneville, TN
Platform Identity gcso.greene.tn.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 24, 1972
Tour of Duty 6 yrs
Age 51
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Weapon Automobile
Offender Apprehended

Deputy Sheriff Emerson Shelton 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 Greene 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.

Greene County Sheriff's Office
3
of 8 officers
37.5% Accident
TN — Statewide
191
of 769 officers
24.8% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Emerson Shelton'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 Emerson Shelton Compares

Age at End of Watch
51
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
6
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

Offender Outcome

Apprehended

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Emerson Shelton is highlighted in Sep.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897