Milton Earl Whatley
Agency patch
Officer

Milton Earl Whatley

Dallas Police Department — Dallas, TX
Cardiac Veteran →
End of Watch October 7, 1973
Age 26
Tour of Duty 2 yrs
Badge 3143
The Vigil Panel 112 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Milton Whatley suffered a fatal heart attack after responding to a burglar alarm in the 4300 block of Holland Avenue. He had run up a long flight of stairs to the location of the alarm, which turned out to be a false. As he returned to his cruiser he suffered the heart attack. His partner requested an ambulance and was rushed to transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital where he died shortly after arrival. Officer Whatley was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam war and had served with the Dallas Police Department for two years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-BAC382ED
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.
Officer Whatley gave the Dallas Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Dallas community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Location Dallas, TX
Platform Identity dpd.dallas.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 7, 1973
Tour of Duty 2 yrs
Age 26
Badge Number 3143
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac

Military Service

Milton Earl Whatley served in the Navy (1964–1967) before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Officer Milton Earl Whatley is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In TX, 88 of 2,421 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 3.6% of this state's fallen.

At Dallas Police Department, 3 of 95 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 3.2% of this agency's fallen.

Dallas Police Department
3
of 95 officers
3.2% Cardiac
TX — Statewide
88
of 2,421 officers
3.6% Cardiac
Nationwide
1,306
of 32,508 officers
4% Cardiac

National Cause Distribution

How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Milton Earl Whatley'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 Milton Earl Whatley Compares

Age at End of Watch
26
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
2
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Milton Earl Whatley is highlighted in Oct.

Jan
124
Feb
105
Mar
99
Apr
116
May
115
Jun
95
Jul
94
Aug
104
Sep
109
Oct
121
Nov
113
Dec
111

Incident Location