John W. Phillips
Agency patch
Officer

John W. Phillips

Knoxville Police Department — Knoxville, TN
Accident
End of Watch April 1, 1969
The Vigil Panel 105 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Phillips was killed in a motorcycle accident while on patrol on Clinton Highway. He was thrown from the motorcycle when it struck a guard rail and sign post.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-D4FB5E52
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

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer Phillips served with the Knoxville Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Knoxville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Phillips.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Knoxville, Knox County, TN
Platform Identity kpd.knox.tn.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 1, 1969
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Officer John W. Phillips 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 TN, 191 of 769 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.8% of this state's fallen. That is 24.8 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Knoxville Police Department, 4 of 17 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.5% of this agency's fallen.

Knoxville Police Department
4
of 17 officers
23.5% Accident
TN — Statewide
191
of 769 officers
24.8% 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 W. Phillips's cause is highlighted.

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

How John W. Phillips Compares

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John W. Phillips is highlighted in Apr.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897