Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff William Nelson died of blood poisoning, which he contracted after cutting himself on a piece of metal. He was chasing a robbery suspect when the incident occurred.
Sheriff Nelson had been first elected Sheriff at the age of 24.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-WA-992FE649- 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.
Sheriff Nelson gave the Clallam County Sheriff's Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Port Angeles community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sheriff Nelson.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff William A. Nelson is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In WA, 19 of 339 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 5.6% of this state's fallen. That is 3.5 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Clallam County Sheriff's Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William A. Nelson's cause is highlighted.
How William A. Nelson Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. William A. Nelson is highlighted in Mar.
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Clallam County Sheriff's Department are honored on badge.nw.
