Harlend G. Orsburne
Agency patch
Traffic Officer

Harlend G. Orsburne

Dane County Traffic Police — Madison, WI
Accident
End of Watch July 24, 1979
Age 38
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
The Vigil Panel 121 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Orsburne was killed when his patrol car was rammed by a car during a vehicle pursuit. He was assisting state patrol officers in the pursuit of a stolen vehicle when the vehicle intentionally rammed the patrol car. The suspect fled on foot but was later apprehended and sentenced to five years in connection with Officer Orsburne's death.

Survivors

Officer Orsburne was survived by his two daughters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-WI-8D8BE8BA
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.
Traffic Officer Orsburne gave the Dane County Traffic Police 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Madison community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Traffic Officer Orsburne.

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

Agency

Location Madison, WI
Platform Identity dctpd.dane.wi.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 24, 1979
Tour of Duty 8 yrs
Age 38
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Weapon Automobile
Offender Sentenced to five years

Traffic Officer Harlend G. Orsburne 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%.

Dane County Traffic Police
1
of 1 officers
100% 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. Harlend G. Orsburne'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 Harlend G. Orsburne Compares

Age at End of Watch
38
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
8
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

Offender Outcome

Sentenced to five years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Harlend G. Orsburne is highlighted in Jul.

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