John W. Staas
Agency patch
Trooper

John W. Staas

New Jersey State Police — West Trenton, NJ
Veteran → Accident
End of Watch December 2, 1961
Age 34
Tour of Duty 6 yrs 11 mo
Badge 1382
The Vigil Panel 97 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Trooper John Staas was killed in an automobile accident while on patrol in Mullica Township. Trooper Staas was traveling west on the White Horse Pike in heavy fog and struck the left rear of a truck going the same direction. His police car careened off the road and into a tree and was pronounced dead at the scene. The dense fog was a traffic hazard for most of South Jersey. Trooper Staas was a United States Navy veteran of World War II and had served with the New Jersey State Police for almost seven years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, two sons, and two daughters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-6CCE1CBE
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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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Navy. One record, 2 gates. John is one person.

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Tributes

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Trooper Staas gave the New Jersey State Police 6 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

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

Agency

Type State Police
Location West Trenton, NJ
Platform Identity njsp.nj.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 2, 1961
Tour of Duty 6 yrs 11 mo
Age 34
Badge Number 1382
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

John W. Staas served in the U.S. Navy before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Trooper John W. Staas is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.

In NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 39.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At New Jersey State Police, 53 of 84 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 63.1% of this agency's fallen.

New Jersey State Police
53
of 84 officers
63.1% Accident
NJ — Statewide
258
of 646 officers
39.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,759 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John W. Staas'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. Staas Compares

Age at Death
34
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
6.9
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

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

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

Military Service

John W. Staas served in the U.S. Navy before joining law enforcement.

Visit John W. Staas’s page on salute.nw →

His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.