Richard Joseph Halford
Agency patch
Police Officer

Richard Joseph Halford

Atlanta Police Department — Atlanta, GA
Accident
End of Watch November 3, 2012
Age 48
Tour of Duty 26 yrs
The Vigil Panel 162 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officers Richard Halford and Shawn Smiley were killed in a helicopter crash while assisting in the search for a missing 9-year-old boy at approximately 10:30 pm.

They were flying low over an area approximately four miles west of downtown when the Hughes OH-6A helicopter suddenly crashed to the ground near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Hamilton E. Holmes Drive. The helicopter exploded after impacting the ground. The cause of the crash is under investigation by the NTSB and FAA.

The boy they were searching for was found safe a short time later.

Officer Halford had served with the Atlanta Police Department for 26 years and had been assigned as a pilot in the Air Unit for 16 years.

Survivors

He is survived by his daughter, parents, brother, and sister.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
neuraspine_01krbxtnsammqzeqzcds3rs2vz
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Richard. Claim this record.

This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.

Tributes

26 years. You could have gone home.
Police Officer Halford gave the Atlanta Police Department 26 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Atlanta community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Halford.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Atlanta, Fulton County, GA
Platform Identity apd.fulton.ga.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 3, 2012
Tour of Duty 26 yrs
Age 48
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

The Sacrifice · Accident

Richard is one of 8,275 officers lost to accidents in the United States, 30% 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
  2. See the roll
Compare against
I

Time

In 2012, 51 officers in the United States were lost to accidents, the 94th heaviest of 174 years on record. The heaviest was 1929, with 118.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Richard was 48. Of the 7,718 lost to accidents in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 29 and 46; the middle age was 36. Richard had served 26 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

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

When

November holds 8.4% of these deaths in the United States; August holds the most, 9.5%. Saturdays: 14.9%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Accident deaths account for 30% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the 2nd most common cause.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Atlanta Police Department has 88 officers remembered here, Richard among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Police Officer Richard Joseph Halford

Atlanta Police Department · End of Watch November 3, 2012

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 18-E

↑