James E. Larimer
Agency patch
Marshal

James E. Larimer

St. John Police Department — St. John, IN
Felonious
End of Watch February 20, 1971
Age 56
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
The Vigil Panel 108 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Marshal James Larimer and Indiana State Trooper John Streu were shot and killed while arresting two suspects for kidnapping, robbery, and auto theft. At 7:00 a.m., the two officers had responded to a report of two suspicious men sleeping in a vehicle behind Kolling Elementary School. The officers handcuffed one of the men and placed him in the cruiser when the second man opened fire, striking Marshal Larimer. Trooper Streu returned fire, striking the subject. He then left his gun in the front seat and went to the aid of Marshal Larimer. When he did so, the handcuffed man reached over the seat, picked up Trooper Streu's weapon and shot him. When another Trooper arrived on the scene, the handcuffed suspect shot him through the windshield of his patrol vehicle. Despite being shot in the shoulder, he was able to apprehend the suspect. One man, who had escaped from a penal farm, was sentenced to two life terms and died in prison in 2009. The other suspect, who was 17, was sentenced to life in prison and was denied parole several times. He subsequently died in prison in 2015. Marshal Larimer had served with the St. John Police Department for eight years and had previously served with the Hammond Police Department for 22 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and son.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IN-2390B0B7
Stewardship
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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Tributes

30 years. You could have gone home.
Marshal Larimer gave the St. John Police Department 30 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the St. John community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Marshal Larimer.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location St. John, Lake County, IN
Platform Identity sjpd.lake.in.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 20, 1971
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
Age 56
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Handgun

Marshal James E. Larimer is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In IN, 311 of 503 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 61.8% of this state's fallen. That is 61.8 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

St. John Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Felonious
IN — Statewide
311
of 503 officers
61.8% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James E. Larimer's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How James E. Larimer Compares

Age at Death
56
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
30
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. James E. Larimer is highlighted in Feb.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. James E. Larimer was killed by handgun.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

0 officers from St. John Police Department are honored on badge.nw.