John Kimmey
Agency patch
Sheriff

John Kimmey

Felonious
End of Watch December 11, 1839
Age 37
Tour of Duty 2 yrs
The Vigil Panel 1 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sheriff John Kimmey succumbed to gunshot and stab wounds sustained two days earlier when he was attacked by a man who was an opposing candidate for the office of sheriff.

The other candidate attacked Sheriff Kimmey and struck him in the face with a bowie knife, inflicting a serious wound. Despite the injury, Sheriff Kimmey was able to fatally wound the subject. One of the man's friends then chased Sheriff Kimmey from the scene and shot him. Sheriff Kimmey died of the wounds two days later.

The man who shot him fled the scene and was never apprehended.

Sheriff Kinney served with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office for two years.

Even after all these years the people of Sumter county still owe you quite a great deal for your sacrifice.

Chaplain Joe P. Morgan Retired December 11th, 2023

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-31D7B1BC
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

187 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Sheriff Kimmey gave the Sumter County Sheriff's Office 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Americus community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Type Sheriff's Office
Location Americus, Sumter County, GA
Platform Identity scso.sumter.ga.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 11, 1839
Tour of Duty 2 yrs
Age 37
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Cause Detail Gunfire
Weapon Gun; Unknown type

Sheriff John Kimmey 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 GA, 549 of 905 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.7% of this state's fallen. That is 60.7 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Sumter County Sheriff's Office
1
of 1 officers
100% Felonious
GA — Statewide
549
of 905 officers
60.7% 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 Kimmey's cause is highlighted.

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

How John Kimmey Compares

Age at Death
37
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
2
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. John Kimmey is highlighted in Dec.

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 Kimmey was killed by gun; unknown type.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909

Others Who Wore This Badge

0 officers from Sumter County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.