John Thompson
Agency patch
Patrolman

John Thompson

Brooklyn Police Department — New York, NY
Accident
End of Watch January 2, 1878
Age 40
The Vigil Panel 5 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman John Thompson succumbed to injuries sustained on December 18th, 1877, when he was thrown from his horse while attempting to stop a runaway horse pulling a grocery wagon on Bedford Avenue near Van Buren Street (modern-day Clifton Place).

He was impaled by a piece of the grocery cart when he was thrown from his horse.

Patrolman Thompson was assigned to the Mounted Squad.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and five children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-902CFF02
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

148 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Patrolman Thompson served with the Brooklyn Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location New York, NY
Platform Identity bpd.newyork.ny.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 2, 1878
Age 40
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Animal related

Patrolman John Thompson is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 officers honored here.

In NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 30 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Brooklyn Police Department, 3 of 9 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.

Brooklyn Police Department
3
of 9 officers
33.3% Accident
NY — Statewide
645
of 2,147 officers
30% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,756 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

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

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

How John Thompson Compares

Age at Death
40
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Thompson is highlighted in Jan.

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