Nels Goodman
Agency patch
Police Officer

Nels Goodman

Milwaukee Police Department — Milwaukee, WI
Accident
End of Watch August 10, 1937
Tour of Duty 12 yrs
The Vigil Panel 73 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Goodman was killed in a motorcycle accident when the front tire of his motorcycle became stuck in a rut, causing him to be thrown from the bike. He had been with the agency for 12 years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-WI-680C805F
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 Goodman gave the Milwaukee Police Department 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the Milwaukee community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Goodman.

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

Agency

Location Milwaukee, WI
Platform Identity mpd.milwaukee.wi.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 10, 1937
Tour of Duty 12 yrs
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Police Officer Nels Goodman 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 WI, 124 of 317 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Milwaukee Police Department, 23 of 69 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.

Milwaukee Police Department
23
of 69 officers
33.3% Accident
WI — Statewide
124
of 317 officers
39.1% 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. Nels Goodman'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 Nels Goodman Compares

Years of Service
12
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Nels Goodman 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