Joseph B. Modlin
Agency patch
Weight Control Officer

Joseph B. Modlin

Washington State Patrol — Olympia, WA
Accident
End of Watch August 15, 1974
Age 60
Tour of Duty 6 yrs
The Vigil Panel 114 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Weight Control Officer Joseph Modlin was killed when he was crushed underneath the rear wheels of a logging truck at the Home Valley weigh station along Highway 14. He was speaking to the driver of a truck that had stopped next to the scale. When a second truck pulled onto the scale Officer Modlin turned and began to walk toward it. As the original truck began to pull away the rear portion of the empty trailer struck him and he was crushed under the wheels. Officer Modlin had served with the Washington State Patrol for six years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and three daughters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-WA-184ADBEC
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.
Weight Control Officer Modlin gave the Washington State Patrol 6 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Washington. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Weight Control Officer Modlin.

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

Agency

Location Olympia, WA
Platform Identity whp.wa.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 15, 1974
Tour of Duty 6 yrs
Age 60
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Weight Control Officer Joseph B. Modlin 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 WA, 111 of 339 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.7% of this state's fallen. That is 1.7 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Washington State Patrol, 23 of 34 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 67.6% of this agency's fallen.

Washington State Patrol
23
of 34 officers
67.6% Accident
WA — Statewide
111
of 339 officers
32.7% 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. Joseph B. Modlin'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 Joseph B. Modlin Compares

Age at End of Watch
60
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
6
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph B. Modlin is highlighted in Aug.

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

Incident Location