John J. McCarthy
Agency patch
Officer

John J. McCarthy

Portland Police Bureau — Portland, OR
Accident
End of Watch July 21, 1916
Age 39
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
The Vigil Panel 31 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer John McCarthy was killed when his vehicle was struck by a streetcar at 9 p.m. at the intersection of SE Eighth Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard. Officer McCarthy had served with the Portland Police Bureau for five years. He was survived by his fiancee. The couple was to be married 10 days later.

Survivors

He was survived by his fiancee.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-OR-B16218A3
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 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

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer McCarthy gave the Portland Police Bureau 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Portland community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer McCarthy.

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

Agency

Location Portland, OR
Platform Identity ppb.multnomah.or.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 21, 1916
Tour of Duty 5 yrs
Age 39
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Officer John J. McCarthy 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 OR, 66 of 197 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.5% of this state's fallen. That is 2.5 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Portland Police Bureau, 16 of 31 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 51.6% of this agency's fallen.

Portland Police Bureau
16
of 31 officers
51.6% Accident
OR — Statewide
66
of 197 officers
33.5% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John J. McCarthy's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How John J. McCarthy Compares

Age at End of Watch
39
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
5
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John J. McCarthy is highlighted in Jul.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location