Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Thomas Kirkham was killed when he fell from a bridge over the James River connecting Mayo Island and Vauxhall's Island.
He was attempting to control a large crowd during a political rally when the swing-bridge suddenly collapsed, tossing many people into the river. Officer Kirkham was thrown from the bridge as well and was struck in the head by falling timber.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-VA-16196435- 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
157 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Officer Kirkham served with the Richmond Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Richmond community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Thomas Kirkham 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 VA, 203 of 654 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31% of this state's fallen.
At Richmond Police Department, 17 of 40 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 42.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas Kirkham's cause is highlighted.
How Thomas Kirkham Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas Kirkham is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
39 officers from Richmond Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
