Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Police, Railroad Police
End of Watch Saturday, June 16, 1906
Add to My HeroesWilliam R. Rank
Special Officer William Rank succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained on May 15th, 1906, while attempting to arrest a trespasser in the Rutherford Yards near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Officer Rank observed a man jumping on an outbound freight train. As he attempted to arrest the man, the subject drew a handgun and shot him in the neck.
The man who shot Officer Rank was identified as a local farmhand but fled the area after the shooting. It is not known if he was ever apprehended.
Officer Rank was taken to a hospital in Harrisburg where he remained for one week. He was discharged from the hospital and remained at his home until passing away from his wound on June 16th, 1906.
Bio
- Age 25
- Tour Not available
- Badge Not available
Incident Details
- Cause Gunfire
- Location Pennsylvania
- Incident Date Tuesday, May 15, 1906
- Weapon Handgun
- Offender Charged with murder
Most Recent Reflection
View all 3 ReflectionsOfficer Rank, it never fails to amaze me how many over the years turned what would be a simple 'trespass' arrest into murder. Why? We'll never know, although there are no doubt many reasons, but none good.
Brother, thank you for helping to protect one of America's greatest assets, it's railroads. May God Bless you and may you forever Rest in Peace.
Ptl. Jim Leahy, Jr.
Harvard University Police Department
July 20, 2020
Recent LODD Deaths
Police Officer Brent Nelson Hall
Newton Grove Police Department, NC
EOW: April 3, 2021
Deputy Sheriff Christopher Wilson Knight
Bibb County Sheriff's Office, GA
EOW: April 6, 2021
Chief of Police Fred Alan Posavetz
Clinton Township Police Department, MI
EOW: March 22, 2021
Corrections Officer Luis Arturo Hernandez, Sr.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division, TX
EOW: March 31, 2021
Lieutenant James Kouski
Hometown Police Department, IL
EOW: April 3, 2021
Police Officer William Evans
United States Capitol Police, US
EOW: April 2, 2021
Sergeant Shane Owens
Broward County Sheriff's Office, FL
EOW: March 27, 2021
Sergeant LaShonda Owens
Northampton County Sheriff's Office, NC
EOW: March 18, 2021
Deputy Sheriff Donald Raymond Gilreath, III
Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, OH
EOW: February 12, 2021