John David Wilbanks
Incident
Senior Police Officer John Wilbanks died as a result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.
Officer Wilbanks had served with the Houston Police Department for 27 years and was assigned to the Special Operations Division.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Senior Police Officer John David Wilbanks died on October 13, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 53.
He is one of 885 officers honored here, and one of 2 at Houston Police Department.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
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- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Also honored at requiem.nw. One record, 2 gates. John is one person.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Senior Police Officer Wilbanks gave the Houston Police Department 27 years.
Thank you for your service to the Houston community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Senior Police Officer Wilbanks.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
The Sacrifice · Illness
Houston Police Department has lost 117 officers; 2 of them lost to illness.
John is one of 204 officers lost to illness in TX, 8.4% of the 2,423 remembered there.
John is one of 2,028 officers lost to illness in the United States, 7.4% of the 27,552 remembered there.
John is one of 2,979 officers lost to illness worldwide, 8.7% of the 34,103 remembered here.
34,103 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.
Time
In 2021, 99 officers in TX were lost to illness, more than in any other year.
In 2021, 564 officers in the United States were lost to illness, more than in any other year.
In 2021, 566 officers worldwide were lost to illness, more than in any other year.
Who
John was 53. Of the 201 lost to illness in TX whose age is recorded, half were between 45 and 59; the middle age was 53. John had served 27 years; the middle length of service was 17 years.
John was 53. Of the 1,996 lost to illness in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 42 and 58; the middle age was 51. John had served 27 years; the middle length of service was 20 years.
John was 53. Of the 2,916 lost to illness worldwide whose age is recorded, half were between 39 and 56; the middle age was 49. John had served 27 years; the middle length of service was 20 years.
When
October holds 10.3% of these deaths in TX; September holds the most, 16.7%. Wednesdays: 14.2%.
October holds 14.9% of these deaths in the United States, more than any other month. Wednesdays: 14%.
October holds 12.6% of these deaths worldwide, more than any other month. Wednesdays: 13.6%.
How
Illness deaths account for 1.7% of all 117 deaths at Houston Police Department, the 3rd most common cause.
Illness deaths account for 8.4% of all 2,423 deaths in TX, the 3rd most common cause.
Illness deaths account for 7.4% of all 27,552 deaths in the United States, the 3rd most common cause.
Illness deaths account for 8.7% of all 34,103 deaths worldwide, the 3rd most common cause.
His people
Houston Police Department has 117 officers remembered here, John among them.
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C. Edward Foley Mar 10, 1860
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Richard T. Snow Mar 18, 1883
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Henry Williams Feb 8, 1886
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James E. Fenn Mar 15, 1891
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William A. Weiss
Jul 30, 1901
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John C. James
Dec 11, 1901
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Herman Youngst
Dec 11, 1901
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William E. Murphy
Apr 1, 1910
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John Morris Cain
Aug 4, 1911
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Joseph Robert Free
Oct 18, 1912
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Isaac Parsons May 24, 1914
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Rufus H. Daniels
Aug 23, 1917
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Edwin Gustav Meinecke
Aug 23, 1917
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Horace Clifton Moody
Aug 23, 1917
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Ira D. Raney
Aug 23, 1917
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Daniel Ross Patton Sep 8, 1917
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John Davidson
Feb 19, 1921
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Jeter Young
Jun 19, 1921
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David Duncan Murdock
Jun 28, 1921
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John Clark Etheridge
Aug 23, 1924
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Pete Corrales
Jan 21, 1925
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Perry Page Jones
Jan 30, 1927
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Rodney Quinn Wells Jul 30, 1927
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Albert Worth Davis
Jun 17, 1928
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Oscar Emmett Hope
Jun 22, 1929
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Ed Jones Sep 13, 1929
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C. F. Thomas Dec 17, 1929
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Edward Davis Fitzgerald
Sep 20, 1930
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William Bonner Phares
Sep 30, 1930
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Joseph Duas Landry
Dec 3, 1930
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Harry Talcott Mereness
Oct 18, 1933
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Rempsey H. Sullivan
Mar 9, 1935
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James Thomas Gambill Dec 1, 1936
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Adolph Peter Martial
Nov 8, 1937
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Marion Edward Palmer, Sr.
Mar 24, 1938
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George Dewey Edwards
Jun 30, 1939
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Howard Bee Hammond
Aug 18, 1946
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Smith Anderson Kent, Jr.
Jan 12, 1954
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Fred Maddox, Jr.
Feb 24, 1954
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Jack Bill Beets
Apr 30, 1955
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Charles Raphael Gougenheim
Apr 30, 1955
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Frank Leslie Kellogg
Nov 30, 1955
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Robert J. Schultea
Aug 25, 1956
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Noel Ray Miller
Jun 6, 1958
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Claude Emmett Branon, Sr.
Mar 20, 1959
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John Wesley Suttle
Aug 23, 1959
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Gonzalo Q. Gonzalez
Feb 28, 1960
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James Thomas Walker
Mar 8, 1963
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Charles Raymond McDaniel
Aug 4, 1963
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James Franklin Willis
Jul 1, 1964
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Herbert N. Planer
Feb 18, 1965
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Floyd Taylor DeLoach, Jr.
Jun 30, 1965
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Louis Lyndon Sander
Jan 21, 1967
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Louis Raymond Kuba
May 17, 1967
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Ben Eddie Gerhart
Jun 26, 1968
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Bobby Lee James
Jun 26, 1968
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Kennith W. Moody
Nov 26, 1969
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Leon Griggs
Jan 31, 1970
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Robert Wayne Lee
Jan 31, 1971
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Claude Ronald Beck
Dec 10, 1971
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David Franklin Noel
Jun 17, 1972
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Jerry Leon Spruill
Oct 26, 1972
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Antonio Guzman, Jr.
Jan 9, 1973
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David Huerta
Sep 19, 1973
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Jerry Lawrence Riley
Jun 18, 1974
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John Terrell Bamsch
Jan 30, 1975
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Francis Eddie Wright
Aug 2, 1975
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Richard Howard Calhoun
Oct 10, 1975
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George Garza Rojas
Jan 28, 1976
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James Fredrick Kilty
Apr 8, 1976
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Timothy Lowe Hearn
Jun 8, 1978
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Victor Ray Wells, III
Oct 2, 1980
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Joseph Adolph Zamarron
Apr 18, 1981
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William Edwin DeLeon
Mar 29, 1982
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Winston James Rawlins
Mar 29, 1982
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Daryl Wayne Shirley
Apr 28, 1982
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James Donald Harris
Jul 13, 1982
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Kathleen Schaefer
Aug 18, 1982
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Charles Robert Coates, II
Feb 23, 1983
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Maria Michelle Groves
Apr 10, 1987
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Andrew Winzer
Feb 18, 1988
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Elston Morris Howard
Jul 20, 1988
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Florentino Munoz Garcia, Jr.
Nov 10, 1989
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James Charles Boswell
Dec 9, 1989
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James Bruce Irby
Jun 27, 1990
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John Anthony Salvaggio
Nov 25, 1990
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Bruno David Soboleski
Apr 12, 1991
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Michael Paul Roman
Jan 6, 1994
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Guy Patrick Gaddis
Jan 31, 1994
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David Michael Healy
Nov 12, 1994
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Dawn Suzanne Erickson
Dec 24, 1995
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Cuong Huy Trinh
Apr 6, 1997
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Kent Dean Kincaid
May 23, 1998
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Troy Alan Blando
May 19, 1999
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Jerry Keith Stowe
Sep 20, 2000
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Dennis E. Holmes
Jan 10, 2001
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Alberto Vasquez
May 22, 2001
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Keith Alan Dees
Mar 7, 2002
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Charles Roy Clark
Apr 3, 2003
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Frank Manuel Cantu, Jr.
Mar 25, 2004
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Reuben Becerra DeLeon, Jr.
Oct 26, 2005
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Rodney Joseph Johnson
Sep 21, 2006
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Gary Allen Gryder
Jun 29, 2008
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Timothy Scott Abernethy
Dec 7, 2008
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Henry Canales
Jun 23, 2009
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Eydelmen Mani
May 19, 2010
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Kevin Scott Will
May 29, 2011
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Richard K. Martin
May 18, 2015
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Steve Albert Perez
Aug 27, 2017
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Christopher Charles Lewis Brewster
Dec 7, 2019
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Jason Michael Knox
May 2, 2020
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Harold Lloyd Preston
Oct 20, 2020
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Sean Sebastian Rios
Nov 9, 2020
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Ernest Leal, Jr.
Nov 27, 2020
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William John Jeffrey
Sep 20, 2021
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John David Wilbanks
Oct 13, 2021
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Alex D. Roberts
Sep 17, 2025
Where
Where the Name Is Cut
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 41-W
What is kept
Photographs, film, sound and papers — what survived a life.
Also Remembered
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial — requiem.nw →
Others Who Wore This Badge
116 officers from Houston Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.















