Killed in the Line of Duty: Milford Law Enforcement Officers Who Lost Their Lives

MILFORD, MA—To date, there have been 360 deaths while in the line of duty in Massachusetts, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. Of those, three were aircraft accidents, two animal related, 22 assaults, 33 automobile accidents, one bomb related, one drowning, eight duty related illnesses, one electrocuted, one explosion, four exposed to toxins, 10 falls, one fire, 125 to gunfire, four to accidental gunfire, 35 heart attacks, one from heat exhaustion, 30 motorcycle accidents, nine stabbed, one struck by a streetcar, four struck by trains, 32 struck by vehicles, one from a structure collapse, two train accidents, seven vehicle pursuits and 22 vehicular assaults.

In Milford, there have been two who lost their lives in the line of duty:

• Sergeant Walter Conley was shot and killed during a robbery attempt while working detail at the Milford Savings Bank on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 1980. He was 61 years old and had served for 30 years. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, Sgt. Conley was shot and killed while escorting a bank employee who was returning from another bank across the street.
• Officer Harry W. Butler was shot and killed on Sept. 8, 1916, while responding to individuals who were discharging firearms. Officer Butler was working in plain clothes with his partner in a residential neighborhood. It was just after midnight. Officer Butler was shot at point blank range in the face with a revolver.

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