Officer

William McDuff

Dallas Police Department — Dallas, TX
Felonious
End of Watch December 25, 1896
Age 63
Tour of Duty 2 mo
The Vigil Panel 14 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer William McDuff was shot and killed after two youths he had arrested earlier in the week came to his home. The two were outside yelling at him. When he came outside to tell them to stop yelling, they shot him with a shotgun, killing him. The suspects were sentenced to 10 and 25 years. Officer McDuff was the first black officer with the Dallas Police Department to be killed in the line of duty. He had been with the agency for two months.

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August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

130 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Officer McDuff served with the Dallas Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Dallas community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Dallas, Collin County, TX
Platform Identity dpd.dallas.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 25, 1896
Tour of Duty 2 mo
Age 63
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Shotgun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

William is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

34,117 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 1896, 59 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 129th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

William was 63. Of the 14,220 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. William had served 0.2 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

December holds 9.4% of these deaths in the United States, more than any other month. Fridays: 14.3%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was shotgun, in 7% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Dallas Police Department has 95 officers remembered here, William among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Officer William McDuff

Dallas Police Department · End of Watch December 25, 1896

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 6-W

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