John B. French
Agency patch
Police Officer

John B. French

Detroit Police Department — Detroit, MI
Veteran → Accident
End of Watch May 15, 1958
Age 31
Tour of Duty 9 yrs
Badge 1060
Gender Male

Incident

Officer French succumbed to injuries sustained the previous day when he was involved in a motorcycle accident on the Ford Expressway. Officer French was driving east in the morning into the sun on I-94 under Grand River Avenue and didn't see a 12x12 timber workers had placed across the ramp. His helmet came off during the accident and he sustained major head injuries. Officer French was a U.S Army Air Corps veteran of WWII and had served with the Detroit Police Department for nine years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and child.

In Our Keeping

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Stewardship
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Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Police Officer French gave the Detroit Police Department 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Detroit, Wayne County, MI
Platform Identity detpd.wayne.mi.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 15, 1958
Tour of Duty 9 yrs
Age 31
Badge Number 1060
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

John B. French served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

The Sacrifice · Accident

John is one of 8,276 officers lost to accidents in the United States, 30% of the 27,552 remembered there.

34,103 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 1958, 50 officers in the United States were lost to accidents, the 96th heaviest of 174 years on record. The heaviest was 1929, with 118.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

John was 31. 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. John had served 9 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

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

When

May holds 8.6% of these deaths in the United States; August holds the most, 9.4%. Thursdays: 14%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Accident deaths account for 30% of all 27,552 deaths in the United States, the 2nd most common cause.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Detroit Police Department has at least 120 officers remembered here, John among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Police Officer John B. French

Detroit Police Department · End of Watch May 15, 1958

Military Service

John B. French served in the United States military before joining law enforcement.

Visit John B. French’s page on salute.nw →

His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 64-W

Also Remembered

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