Roll of Honor
Incident
Lieutenant Earnie Oldham died from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.
Lieutenant Oldham had served with the Plano Police Department for 34 years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Lieutenant Earnest Oldham died on September 16, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 57.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and twin children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-A5CDCC80- 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
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Lieutenant Oldham gave the Plano Police Department 34 years.
Thank you for your service to the Plano community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Lieutenant Oldham.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Lieutenant Earnest Oldham is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 204 of 2,421 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 8.4% of this state's fallen. That is 0.7 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Plano Police Dept., 1 of 3 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Earnest Oldham's cause is highlighted.
How Earnest Oldham Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Earnest Oldham is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Plano Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw.
