Roll of Honor
Incident
On Saturday, February 14, 1885, at approximately 4-5:00 p.m., Cooke County Precinct 5 Constable J.D.L. Johnson and Deputy Constables Newton Floyd and John Stewart, attempted to serve a writ of attachment on a team of horses and wagon owned by J.H. "Old Man" Rainey. Rainey and his son, J. E. "Jim" Rainey, were getting ready to cross the Red River into Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) when the three lawmen confronted them. "Old Man" Rainey resisted the officers and told his son to shoot Constable Johnson. The younger Rainey shot Constable Johnson in the head and upper body, killing him instantly. The son then shot and wounded Deputy Constable Floyd.
J. E. "Jim" Rainey was sentenced to life in prison and his father, J.H. "Old Man" Rainey, received 20 years in prison.
Constable J.D.L. Johnson is buried in the Marysville Cemetery in Cooke County.
Precinct 5 no longer exists. Cooke County has only Precinct 1 and 4 today.
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- April 2, 2026
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- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
141 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Constable Johnson served with the Cooke County Constable's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Gainesville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Constable J. D. L. Johnson is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 1,463 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.4% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. J. D. L. Johnson's cause is highlighted.
How J. D. L. Johnson Compares
Offender Outcome
J.H. Rainey and J.E. Rainey
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. J. D. L. Johnson is highlighted in Feb.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. J. D. L. Johnson was killed by gun; unknown type.