Vernon G. Fortin
Agency patch
Patrolman

Vernon G. Fortin

Washington State Patrol — Olympia, WA
Accident
End of Watch September 30, 1923
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
The Vigil Panel 45 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman Vernon Fortin succumbed to injuries received five days earlier when he and another officer were involved in a motorcycle crash.

The officers' handlebars became entangled on Hannegan Road as the two were reporting for patrol duty in Lynden.

Patrolman Fortin had served with the Washington State Patrol for one year.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-WA-E9031339
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

You barely got started.
Patrolman Fortin gave the Washington State Patrol 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the people of Washington. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Fortin.

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

Agency

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

Service Record

End of Watch September 30, 1923
Tour of Duty 1 yrs
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Patrolman Vernon G. Fortin 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. Vernon G. Fortin'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 Vernon G. Fortin Compares

Years of Service
1
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Vernon G. Fortin is highlighted in Sep.

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