Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Joseph Palazolla was fatally struck by a bus while directing traffic. Patrolman Palazolla stood in the street in front of Bruce Elementary School with his hand in the air and his whistle in his mouth when a Memphis Transit Company bus struck him. A nurse who witnessed the accident attended to Patrolman Palazolla and rushed him in her car to Methodist Hospital where he died from his injuries.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-B4B07216- 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 Palazolla served with the Memphis Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Memphis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Palazolla.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Joseph Palazolla 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. Joseph Palazolla's cause is highlighted.
How Joseph Palazolla Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph Palazolla is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
93 officers from Memphis Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
