Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman John Scott was killed when two freight cars of a train derailed in Brooklyn, Illinois.
He was riding on the train in an attempt to locate boxcar thieves. He was moving between the two cars when the train went over a defective switch, causing the cars to derail. He was trapped between them for over 30 minutes before the train crew was able to cut him out of the wreckage. He died several minutes after being freed.
Patrolman Scott was survived by his wife and nine children. He was predeceased by three additional children.
Survivors
Patrolman Scott was survived by his wife and nine children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-A9BF082D- 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.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Patrolman Scott served with the Wabash Railway Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the St. Louis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Scott.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman John W. Scott 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 MI, 229 of 718 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Wabash Railway Police Department, 2 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John W. Scott's cause is highlighted.
How John W. Scott Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John W. Scott is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from Wabash Railway Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
