Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Don Johnson was killed when his police motorcycle was struck head-on while he was escorting a funeral procession.
Deputy Johnson and the procession were heading westbound when three cars approached from the east. Deputy Johnson motioned for the cars to pull off of the roadway so that the procession could pass.
The first two cars began to pull off, but the third vehicle swerved into the middle of the road and struck Deputy Johnson head-on, causing him to flip into the windshield and over the top of the pickup truck. The impact was so severe that it knocked his helmet and gun belt off. The driver of the second car told officers that the pickup truck had been tailgating and attempting to pass her car for miles. The driver of the vehicle that struck Deputy Johnson was issued a traffic citation for an illegal lane change.
Deputy Johnson was transported to a local hospital where he died approximately two and a half hours later.
A memorial in his honor sits on County Road 388 between Highway 77 and Highway 79.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FL-24CD3242- 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 never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Johnson gave the Bay County Sheriff's Office 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Panama City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Johnson.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Don Carlton Johnson, Jr. is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In FL, 313 of 1,008 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.1% of this state's fallen. That is 0.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Bay County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 5 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 20% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Don Carlton Johnson, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Don Carlton Johnson, Jr. Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Don Carlton Johnson, Jr. is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
4 officers from Bay County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
