Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Ellsworth Cordes was killed when his police motorcycle struck a streetcar at First Avenue South and Horton Street. His partner, Police Officer Ralph Ahner, had been killed in a motorcycle crash three blocks away only three months earlier.
Survivors
Officer Cordes had been a member of the Seattle Police Department for two years and was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-WA-ADC505DF- 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.
Police Officer Cordes gave the Seattle Police Department 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Seattle community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Cordes.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Ellsworth W. Cordes 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 Seattle Police Department, 16 of 60 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ellsworth W. Cordes's cause is highlighted.
How Ellsworth W. Cordes Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Ellsworth W. Cordes is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
59 officers from Seattle Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
