John S. Donlan
Agency patch
Sergeant

John S. Donlan

Seattle Police Department — Seattle, WA
Felonious
End of Watch May 20, 1934
Age 64
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
The Vigil Panel 68 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant John Donlan was shot and killed while off duty in his home at 346 Kinnear Place.

He heard the sound of glass breaking in his basement and he went to retrieve his service weapon. An unknown suspect then came up from the basement and shot and killed him.

Sergeant Donlan had served with the Seattle Police Department for 30 years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-WA-61749A6E
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.
Sergeant Donlan gave the Seattle Police Department 30 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Seattle community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Donlan.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Seattle, King County, WA
Platform Identity seatpd.king.wa.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 20, 1934
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
Age 64
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

Sergeant John S. Donlan 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 WA, 187 of 340 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 55% of this state's fallen. That is 55 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Seattle Police Department, 44 of 60 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 73.3% of this agency's fallen.

Seattle Police Department
44
of 60 officers
73.3% Felonious
WA — Statewide
187
of 340 officers
55% 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 S. Donlan's cause is highlighted.

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

How John S. Donlan Compares

Age at Death
64
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. John S. Donlan is highlighted in May.

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 S. Donlan 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