John Joseph Brown
Sergeant

John Joseph Brown

Savannah Police Department — Savannah, GA
Accident
End of Watch April 14, 1981
Age 49
Tour of Duty 21 yrs
The Vigil Panel 124 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant J.J. Brown was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow officer during a shootout with a suspect who had fired at the officers. The shooting occurred at the intersection of Liberty Street and West Broad Street. The suspect was also shot and killed in the shootout. Sergeant Brown had served with the Savannah Police Department for 21 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and three children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-84C905B3
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew John. Claim this record.

This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.

Tributes

21 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Brown gave the Savannah Police Department 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Savannah community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Brown.

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

Agency

Type Other
Location Savannah, Chatham County, GA
Platform Identity spd.chatham.ga.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 14, 1981
Tour of Duty 21 yrs
Age 49
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Sergeant John Joseph Brown 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 GA, 264 of 905 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.2% of this state's fallen. That is 29.2 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Savannah Police Department, 9 of 31 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29% of this agency's fallen.

Savannah Police Department
9
of 31 officers
29% Accident
GA — Statewide
264
of 905 officers
29.2% 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 Joseph Brown's cause is highlighted.

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

How John Joseph Brown Compares

Age at Death
49
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
21
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Joseph Brown is highlighted in Apr.

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