Roll of Honor
Incident
Marshal Edward Whittier was killed in a horse-and-buggy accident while transporting a prisoner from Cheney to the county jail in Spokane Falls. During the trip, he turned his buggy off of the roadway to allow another buggy to pass. When he did so, one of the wheels struck loose rock that been blasted during railroad construction. The horses pulling the buggy lost their footing and attempted to run away. They pulled the buggy into a railroad trestle, causing the buggy to overturn. Marshal Whittier and the prisoner were both thrown to the ground. Marshal Whittier suffered a skull fracture. The prisoner, who was only slightly injured, walked the four miles into town to alert others of the accident.
Marshal Whittier had served as marshal for 14 months, and had previously served as sheriff of Spokane County for 2 years.
He was survived by his parents and a brother.
Survivors
He was survived by his parents and a brother.
In Our Keeping
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BO-US-WA-7E0E58EA- 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
138 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
City Marshal Whittier gave the Cheney Police Department 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Cheney community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
City Marshal Edward F. Whittier 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%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Edward F. Whittier's cause is highlighted.
How Edward F. Whittier Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Edward F. Whittier is highlighted in Oct.