Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Jim Hern died from an accidental gunshot wound sustained the previous day.
He was conducting a meeting with a judge when he bent down to pick something up off of the judge's office floor. His .32 caliber pistol fell from his pocket and discharged when it hit the ground. The round struck him in the abdomen, causing serious internal injuries.
He was taken to his sister's home where he died at 3:00 am the following morning.
Chief Hern had served as the chief of police and township constable of Polson for approximately 13 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, brother, and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MT-F83E7857- Stewardship
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- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Chief of Police Hern gave the Polson Police Department 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the Polson community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Hern.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Chief of Police John Emory Hern is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In MT, 34 of 142 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.9% of this state's fallen. That is 7.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Emory Hern's cause is highlighted.
How John Emory Hern Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Emory Hern is highlighted in Jan.