The Officer Down Memorial Page
Encyclopedia
The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. (ODMP) is a non-profit organization
that maintains a website
listing American, Canadian, central European, Australian, and New Zealander law enforcement officers and prison officer
s who have died in the line of duty.
. Cosgriff was inspired to create the website when he read a Washington Post article about the release of a murderer convicted of killing two Prince George's County, Maryland
police officers from prison after serving 16 years.
The site first only honored officers killed in 1996, but eventually expanded to include officers from the 1990s. With assistance from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
the site expanded to list officers killed in the line of duty dating back to the 1790s.
The ODMP claims to be accessed by over 250,000 unique visitors per month. Its research
staff are volunteers managed by a lieutenant from the New York City Police Department
. The organization has uncovered hundreds of "forgotten" line-of-duty deaths and has assisted in ensuring those officers are properly recognized on the appropriate police memorials.
In 1997, Canada and Australia had their own pages added, followed by central Europe and New Zealand in 1998.
In 2000, the ODMP was granted 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
status. The operation of the site is paid for through private contributions as well as the proceeds from a gift shop
selling T-shirt
s, bumper sticker
s and other items. The site is advertising-free.
In 2010, the ODMP's website became funded in part through a $150,000 grant received from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The site lists law enforcement and prison officers from all levels of government who have died in the line of duty due to criminal violence
, accident
, injury
, illness
or natural causes
.
The site also lists officers killed off duty if they were killed while acting in an official capacity to prevent loss of property, injury, death, or if targeted because they were law enforcement officers. Military police
officers in the U.S. armed forces
or peacekeeper
s are listed if they died while conducting conventional law enforcement operations, but not if they died in military combat
, exercise
s, or operations
. Investigator
s or special agent
s working for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command
, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
, Air Force Office of Special Investigations
, or Coast Guard Investigative Service
are eligible under the same criteria that applies to conventional police officers and can be included if killed while assigned to wartime areas for criminal or investigative purposes.
The ODMP does not list:
, years served with the agency or department, age, badge number and date of death, as well as a brief description of the events that led up to and caused the officer's death.
If the death was the result of an encounter with a criminal suspect, the ODMP does not usually give the suspect's name. However, it will state, if known, whether the suspect was apprehended
, what sentence
they have received if convicted
, as well as if the suspect was acquitted
or parole
d. The profile ends with a list of all the agencies the officer ever served with, as well as any military experience and the immediate surviving relatives, though it does not give their names.
Each officer's profile has a "Reflections" section where visitors can post comments. These comments are moderated
and negative, derogatory or abusive postings are removed.
There is a search
function that allows searching by last name, agency, state
(either including or not including federal, railroad
, tribal
and out-of-region officers killed within the region), range of years or cause of death
.
constable
Darius Quimby, killed on January 3, 1791. The earliest death of a federal officer listed is U.S. Marshal
Robert Forsyth
, killed on January 11, 1794. The earliest death of a female officer listed is New York
State Department of Correctional Services head attendant Nellie Wicks killed on September 27, 1906.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that maintains a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
listing American, Canadian, central European, Australian, and New Zealander law enforcement officers and prison officer
Prison officer
A prison officer , also referred to as a corrections officer , correctional officer , or detention officer , is a person charged with the responsibility of the supervision, safety and security of prisoners in a prison, jail, or similar form of secure...
s who have died in the line of duty.
History
The ODMP was established in 1996 by Chris Cosgriff, then a freshman at James Madison UniversityJames Madison University
James Madison University is a public coeducational research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the university has undergone four name changes before settling with James Madison University...
. Cosgriff was inspired to create the website when he read a Washington Post article about the release of a murderer convicted of killing two Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
police officers from prison after serving 16 years.
The site first only honored officers killed in 1996, but eventually expanded to include officers from the 1990s. With assistance from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., at Judiciary Square, honors the nearly 19,000 U.S. law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty throughout history. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund was established by former U.S...
the site expanded to list officers killed in the line of duty dating back to the 1790s.
The ODMP claims to be accessed by over 250,000 unique visitors per month. Its research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
staff are volunteers managed by a lieutenant from the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
. The organization has uncovered hundreds of "forgotten" line-of-duty deaths and has assisted in ensuring those officers are properly recognized on the appropriate police memorials.
In 1997, Canada and Australia had their own pages added, followed by central Europe and New Zealand in 1998.
In 2000, the ODMP was granted 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
Tax exemption
Various tax systems grant a tax exemption to certain organizations, persons, income, property or other items taxable under the system. Tax exemption may also refer to a personal allowance or specific monetary exemption which may be claimed by an individual to reduce taxable income under some...
status. The operation of the site is paid for through private contributions as well as the proceeds from a gift shop
Gift shop
A gift shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collections and other souvenirs....
selling T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s, bumper sticker
Bumper sticker
A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles - although they are often stuck onto other objects...
s and other items. The site is advertising-free.
In 2010, the ODMP's website became funded in part through a $150,000 grant received from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Criteria
The ODMP maintains a detailed list of criteria.The site lists law enforcement and prison officers from all levels of government who have died in the line of duty due to criminal violence
Violent crime
A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Violent...
, accident
Accident
An accident or mishap is an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance, often with lack of intention or necessity. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its...
, injury
Injury
-By cause:*Traumatic injury, a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident*Other injuries from external physical causes, such as radiation injury, burn injury or frostbite*Injury from infection...
, illness
Illness
Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist...
or natural causes
Death by natural causes
A death by natural causes, as recorded by coroners and on death certificates and associated documents, is one that is primarily attributed to natural agents: usually an illness or an internal malfunction of the body. For example, a person dying from complications from influenza or a heart attack ...
.
The site also lists officers killed off duty if they were killed while acting in an official capacity to prevent loss of property, injury, death, or if targeted because they were law enforcement officers. Military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
officers in the U.S. armed forces
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
or peacekeeper
Peacekeeper
Peacekeeper may refer to:* A person involved in peacekeeping* Peace officer* Conservator of the peaceIn vehicles:* The LGM-118 Peacekeeper, a land-based nuclear ICBM...
s are listed if they died while conducting conventional law enforcement operations, but not if they died in military combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
, exercise
Military exercise
A military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
s, or operations
Military operation
Military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state's favor. Operations may be of combat or non-combat types, and are referred to by a code name for the purpose...
. Investigator
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
s or special agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
s working for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command
U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command
United States Army Criminal Investigation Command investigates felony crimes and serious violations of military law within the United States Army...
, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the primary security, counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, and law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Navy...
, Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Air Force Office of Special Investigations
The Air Force Office of Special Investigations , is a Field Operating Agency of the United States Air Force that provides professional investigative services to commanders throughout the Air Force...
, or Coast Guard Investigative Service
Coast Guard Investigative Service
The Coast Guard Investigative Service is a division of the United States Coast Guard that investigates crimes where the Coast Guard has an interest...
are eligible under the same criteria that applies to conventional police officers and can be included if killed while assigned to wartime areas for criminal or investigative purposes.
The ODMP does not list:
- Deaths of security companySecurity guardA security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
or private military companyPrivate military companyA private military company or provides military and security services. These combatants are commonly known as mercenaries, though modern-day PMCs refer to their staff as security contractors, private military contractors or private security contractors, and refer to themselves as private military...
employees killed in the course of their duties for private, for-profit companies, even if they also held a law enforcement commission at the time of their death - Deaths attributed to voluntary use of alcohol or controlled substanceControlled substanceA controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession, or use are regulated by a government. This may include illegal drugs and prescription medications ....
s or while the victim officer is under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance - Deaths caused by an officer's intentional misconductMisconductA misconduct is a legal term meaning a wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts....
- Deaths caused by suicideSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
- Deaths attributed to an officer performing in a grossly negligentNegligenceNegligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
manner at the time of death - Deaths in off-duty car accidentCar accidentA traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
s where the officer is not involved in any type of duty-related activity
Layout
Each officer listed has a profile, typically displaying a picture or photograph, if available, the agency or department the officer worked for, their rankPolice rank
- Australia :Generally, all police forces of Australia follow this rank structure with some individual state police forces have ranks differing slightly.Insignia of rank displayed on epaulette in italics and brackets...
, years served with the agency or department, age, badge number and date of death, as well as a brief description of the events that led up to and caused the officer's death.
If the death was the result of an encounter with a criminal suspect, the ODMP does not usually give the suspect's name. However, it will state, if known, whether the suspect was apprehended
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
, what sentence
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
they have received if convicted
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
, as well as if the suspect was acquitted
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
or parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
d. The profile ends with a list of all the agencies the officer ever served with, as well as any military experience and the immediate surviving relatives, though it does not give their names.
Each officer's profile has a "Reflections" section where visitors can post comments. These comments are moderated
Moderation system
On Internet websites which invite users to post comments, a moderation system is the method the webmaster chooses to sort contributions which are irrelevant, obscene, illegal, or insulting with regards to useful or informative contributions....
and negative, derogatory or abusive postings are removed.
There is a search
Web search engine
A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers. The search results are generally presented in a list of results often referred to as SERPS, or "search engine results pages". The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other...
function that allows searching by last name, agency, state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
(either including or not including federal, railroad
Railroad police
Railroad police are different from one country to another. Their roles in some countries are not different from that of any other police agency in others they are more related to a type of security police. They are all commonly responsible for the protection of railroad vast networks of...
, tribal
Indian tribal police
Indian tribal police are peace officers hired by those Native American tribes which have a constitutional government on Reservations, as opposed to hereditary chiefs...
and out-of-region officers killed within the region), range of years or cause of death
Cause of Death
Cause of Death is a 1990 album by American death metal band Obituary. Cause of Death is considered a classic album in the history of death metal. The artwork was done by artist Michael Whelan...
.
Earliest deaths
The earliest death listed is Albany County, New YorkAlbany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
Darius Quimby, killed on January 3, 1791. The earliest death of a federal officer listed is U.S. Marshal
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
Robert Forsyth
Robert Forsyth (U.S. Marshal)
Robert Forsyth was an American patriot who served as a Captain in Lee's Legion under Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee. He was selected by President George Washington to be the first United States Marshal for the state of Georgia and became the first U.S...
, killed on January 11, 1794. The earliest death of a female officer listed is New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
State Department of Correctional Services head attendant Nellie Wicks killed on September 27, 1906.