John Anderson
Agency patch
Trooper

John Anderson

New Jersey State Police — West Trenton, NJ
Veteran → Felonious
End of Watch November 1, 1955
Age 36
Tour of Duty 2 yrs 3 mo
Badge 1191
The Vigil Panel 91 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Trooper John Anderson was shot and killed while investigating a stolen car on the Garden State Parkway. He was on patrol when he observed the car stopped in a U-turn lane around 11:00 p.m. He was shot four times and mortally wounded when he stopped to investigate. The subject fled to a nearby hotel, where he took the owner and his wife hostage. The hotel owner was able to untie himself, retrieve his rifle, and kill the subject after being held for approximately one hour. Trooper Anderson was a United States Army veteran of World War II and had served with the New Jersey State Police for two years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-A0F8867F
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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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Army. One record, 2 gates. John is one person.

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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.
Trooper Anderson gave the New Jersey State Police 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Type State Police
Location West Trenton, NJ
Platform Identity njsp.nj.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 1, 1955
Tour of Duty 2 yrs 3 mo
Age 36
Badge Number 1191
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

Military Service

John Anderson served in the U.S. Army before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Trooper John Anderson 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 NJ, 229 of 646 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 35.4% of this state's fallen. That is 35.4 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At New Jersey State Police, 14 of 84 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 16.7% of this agency's fallen.

New Jersey State Police
14
of 84 officers
16.7% Felonious
NJ — Statewide
229
of 646 officers
35.4% 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. John Anderson's cause is highlighted.

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

How John Anderson Compares

Age at Death
36
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
2.2
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. John Anderson is highlighted in Nov.

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. John Anderson was killed by gun.

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

Incident Location

Military Service

John Anderson served in the U.S. Army before joining law enforcement.

Visit John Anderson’s page on salute.nw →

His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.