Roll of Honor
Alonzo Lanphear
Incident
Corrections Officer Alonzo Lanphear suffered a fatal heart attack while searching the New Jersey State Prison grounds for an inmate who had attacked another officer and escaped from the death row facility.
The inmate was able to trick the officer into coming close enough to his cell that he was able to capture him with a shank and tie his hands to the cell door with torn bed sheets. With the assistance of other inmates, he was able to use a mop handle to move the officer's desk close enough to the cells to obtain tools to break out of the cells.
The inmate put on the officer's uniform and made it to the death house roof before the alarm was sounded. Officer Lanphear obtained a heavy multi-barrel revolving gas gun and was searching the prison grounds when he suddenly collapsed. The escaped inmate was located on the roof and was shot and killed when he attempted to flee.
Officer Lanphear was a WWI veteran. He was survived by his wife, five children, and five grandchildren.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, five children, and five grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-55BE1C4C- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 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.
Corrections Officer Lanphear served with the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Alonzo Lanphear served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Corrections Officer Alonzo Lanphear is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NJ, 38 of 646 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5.9% of this state's fallen. That is 1.9 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At New Jersey Department of Corrections, 5 of 32 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 15.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Alonzo Lanphear's cause is highlighted.
How Alonzo Lanphear Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Alonzo Lanphear is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
31 officers from New Jersey Department of Corrections are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
