Indianapolis Police Department, Indiana
End of Watch: Monday, November 27, 1922
Age: 37
Tour of Duty: 12 years
Badge Number: 276
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 18, 1922
Weapon Used: Handgun; Revolver
Suspect Info: Case never solved
Officer William Whitfield succumbed to gunshot wounds suffered five months earlier while chasing a suspect.
Officer Whitfield was in plain clothes on foot patrol when he entered an alley just west of 3500 North Collage Avenue and noticed a roughly-dressed man. He asked the man what he was doing there, and the man suddenly turned and ran, with Officer Whitfield in pursuit. During the chase, the man suddenly turned and fired several shots from a revolver, striking Officer Whitfield once in the abdomen. He was able to stumble back to the street, where he collapsed. Passers-by took him to a hospital where he lingered for five months before succumbing to his injuries.
The suspect was never captured.
Officer Whitfield had served with the Indianapolis Police Department for 12 years. He was survived by his two sisters.
As he was initially buried in an unmarked grave, on November 30, 1998, he was given a full-honors funeral after members of the department contributed to the purchase of a headstone for his grave site.
Officer Whitfield is the first known African-American law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in the state of Indiana and the first of three unsolved police murders in Indianapolis.