Jimmy Earl Kennedy

Juneau Police Department — Juneau, AK

Felonious

End of Watch April 17, 1979

Age 32

Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo

The Vigil Panel 121 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 3

Incident

Officer Jimmy Kennedy and Officer Richard Adair were ambushed while responding to a shots fired call. The officers were dispatched to a weapon call, as the suspect had opened fire without provocation on a neighbor and wounded him as he drove out of his driveway. The wounded driver drove down a hill, passed out and wrecked, prompting neighbors to call police. As the officers pulled up near the suspect's home, he fired on both with a rifle from a second floor window, striking them both in the head and killing them instantly. A back-up officer, a responding detective, was also shot and wounded. The chief of police then arrived and contained the scene while calling for backup from Alaska State Troopers. Before the troopers arrived, the suspect committed suicide. Officer Kennedy had served with the Juneau Police Department for 18 months.

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Permanent identifier: BO-US-AK-8FB73A9E
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

You barely got started.
Officer Kennedy gave the Juneau Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Juneau community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Kennedy.

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

Agency

Department Juneau Police Department

Location Juneau, AK

Platform Identity jpd.juneau.ak.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 17, 1979

Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo

Age 32

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Rifle; Automatic

Offender Committed suicide

Officer Jimmy Earl Kennedy 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 AK, 35 of 50 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 70% of this state's fallen. That is 15.8 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Juneau Police Department, 2 of 4 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.

Juneau Police Department

of 4 officers

50% Felonious

AK — Statewide

of 50 officers

70% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious