Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Rodney Badger drowned while attempting to rescue a family who had fallen into the Weber River. He had been sent to the river to help pioneers cross the water during the winter. As one of the families crossed, their wagon overturned and a mother and six children fell into the water. Deputy Badger immediately dove in and was able to rescue the mother and four children. As he swam back out to rescue the two remaining children he was overtaken with the cold and exhaustion and went under. His body wasn't recovered until November 1854.
Survivors
Deputy Badger was survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-UT-AF89AA5B- 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
173 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Deputy Sheriff Badger gave the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Salt Lake City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Rodney Badger 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 UT, 49 of 138 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 35.5% of this state's fallen. That is 4.5 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, 3 of 10 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Rodney Badger's cause is highlighted.
How Rodney Badger Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Rodney Badger is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
9 officers from Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
