John A. Branagan
Agency patch
Patrolman

John A. Branagan

Accident
End of Watch August 10, 1869
Age 42
Tour of Duty 12 yrs 6 mo
The Vigil Panel 3 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman Branagan died of injuries he received while assisting with backing out a horse-drawn lumber truck from a ferry yard.

Patrolman Branagan was on his post at the Hamilton Ferry and was assisting a horse-drawn lumber truck back out of the ferry yard. As the truck was backing out, the horses changed direction, causing a load of lumber to fall from the truck onto Patrolman Branagan. Patrolman Branagan was severely injured and was taken to his residence, and the coroner was summoned. He died shortly thereafter from his injuries.

Patrolman Branagan had served with the New York City Police Department for 12 and a half years> He was survived by his wife and four children.

Survivors

Patrolman Branagan had served with the New York City Police Department for 12 and a half years> He was survived by his wife and four children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-2DF64B1F
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

157 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Patrolman Branagan gave the New York Metropolitan Police Force 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location New York, NY
Platform Identity nympd.newyork.ny.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 10, 1869
Tour of Duty 12 yrs 6 mo
Age 42
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Patrolman John A. Branagan is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 30 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At New York Metropolitan Police Force, 4 of 22 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 18.2% of this agency's fallen.

New York Metropolitan Police Force
4
of 22 officers
18.2% Accident
NY — Statewide
645
of 2,147 officers
30% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John A. Branagan's cause is highlighted.

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

How John A. Branagan Compares

Age at Death
42
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
12.5
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John A. Branagan is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location