William Halsey Gouldman
Agency patch
Detective

William Halsey Gouldman

Lynchburg Police Department — Lynchburg, VA
Accident
End of Watch May 30, 1883
Age 31
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
The Vigil Panel 7 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Detective Halsey Gouldman was killed while assisting others fight a structure fire at 10th and Main Streets. A wall collapsed as Detective Gouldman and four citizens were fighting the fire. All five were crushed to death.

Survivors

Detective Gouldman was survived by his wife, children, and mother.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-VA-55FD8191
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

143 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Detective Gouldman gave the Lynchburg Police Department 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Lynchburg community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Location Lynchburg, VA
Platform Identity lpd.lynchburg.va.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 30, 1883
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
Age 31
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Detective William Halsey Gouldman 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 Lynchburg Police Department, 2 of 4 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.

Lynchburg Police Department
2
of 4 officers
50% Accident
VA — Statewide
203
of 654 officers
31% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Halsey Gouldman'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 Halsey Gouldman Compares

Age at End of Watch
31
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
3
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Halsey Gouldman is highlighted in May.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897