John Robert Judge
Agency patch
Chief of Police

John Robert Judge

Marquette Heights Police Department — Marquette Heights, IL
Accident
End of Watch September 8, 1969
Age 57
Tour of Duty 22 yrs
The Vigil Panel 105 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Chief of Police John Judge was accidentally shot and killed when his service revolver discharged and struck him in his left leg.

He had just arrived at his home at 208 Grant Road and was exiting his patrol car when the gun discharged. The round severed his artery, causing him to bleed to death. Chief Judge was known to keep the revolver half-cocked while carrying it in his belt.

Chief Judge had served with the Marquette Heights Police Department for eight years and had previously served with the St. Louis Police Department for 14 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, two sons, three daughters, and six grandchildren.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-525BBB59
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

22 years. You could have gone home.
Chief of Police Judge gave the Marquette Heights Police Department 22 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Marquette Heights community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Chief of Police Judge.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Marquette Heights, Tazewell County, IL
Platform Identity mhpd.tazewell.il.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 8, 1969
Tour of Duty 22 yrs
Age 57
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Chief of Police John Robert Judge 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 IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 26.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Marquette Heights Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Accident
IL — Statewide
354
of 1,318 officers
26.9% 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 Robert Judge's cause is highlighted.

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

How John Robert Judge Compares

Age at Death
57
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
22
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Robert Judge is highlighted in Sep.

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

Others Who Wore This Badge

0 officers from Marquette Heights Police Department are honored on badge.nw.