William Jerold Zak
Deputy Sheriff

William Jerold Zak

Cardiac
End of Watch July 19, 1998
Age 48
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
The Vigil Panel 145 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy William Zak suffered a fatal heart attack after breaking up a fight and attempting to arrest the participants.

He was working a secondary employment job at a nightclub when he was informed of a fight in progress. He responded with another deputy and broke up the fight but collapsed immediately afterward and died at the scene.

The subject involved was charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-CCFC7EF1
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 Zak gave the Bell County Sheriff's Office 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the Belton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Zak.

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

Agency

Location Belton, TX
Platform Identity bcso.bell.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 19, 1998
Tour of Duty 11 yrs
Age 48
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac

Deputy Sheriff William Jerold Zak 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 Bell County Sheriff's Dept., 1 of 6 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 16.7% of this agency's fallen.

Bell County Sheriff's Dept.
1
of 6 officers
16.7% 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. William Jerold Zak'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 William Jerold Zak Compares

Age at End of Watch
48
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 48.6 years
Years of Service
11
This officer
Avg for Cardiac: 15.6 years

When Cardiac Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. William Jerold Zak is highlighted in Jul.

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