Sheriff

Matthew L. Browne

Accident
End of Watch April 11, 1892
Age 37
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo
The Vigil Panel 11 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sheriff Matthew Browne was accidentally shot and killed while he and other deputies transported several Mexican prisoners from Brownsville to Corpus Christi.

The deputies stopped the wagon for lunch at approximately 1600 hours and as Sheriff Browne sat down, he moved his pistol and it discharged. The round struck him in the leg, just above the knee, and severed a major artery. Sheriff Browne bled to death in a matter of minutes.

The deputies took his body back to Brownsville where he was buried.

Sheriff Browne had served as sheriff for approximately 18 months.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, father, sister, and three brothers.

In Our Keeping

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Stewardship
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August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

134 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Sheriff Browne gave the Cameron County Sheriff's Office 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Olmito community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Type Sheriff's Office
Location Olmito, Cameron County, TX
Platform Identity ccso.cameron.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 11, 1892
Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo
Age 37
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

The Sacrifice · Accident

Matthew is one of 8,275 officers lost to accidents in the United States, 30% of the 27,551 remembered there.

33,917 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 1892, 7 officers in the United States were lost to accidents, the 139th heaviest of 174 years on record. The heaviest was 1929, with 118.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Matthew was 37. 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. Matthew had served 1.5 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

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

When

April holds 7% of these deaths in the United States; August holds the most, 9.5%. Mondays: 13.4%.

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

Cameron County Sheriff's Office has 13 officers remembered here, Matthew among them.

Sheriff Matthew L. Browne

Cameron County Sheriff's Office · End of Watch April 11, 1892

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 46-E

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