John Marshall Wester Jr.
Agency patch
Town Marshal

John Marshall Wester Jr.

Kingston Police Department — Kingston, TN
Felonious
End of Watch November 3, 1890
Age 22
The Vigil Panel 10 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Town Marshal John Wester was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man for drinking in public. As Marshal Wester approached the subject, the man produced a handgun and shot him in the abdomen.

Despite being mortally wounded, Marshal Wester returned fire, fatally striking the suspect in the head.

No passage of time can ever erase your service and sacrifice. Rest in peace always.

Detective Cpl/3 Steven Rizzo Delaware State Police (Retired) November 3rd, 2020

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-D1A18AAE
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

136 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Town Marshal Wester served with the Kingston Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Kingston community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Kingston, Roane County, TN
Platform Identity kpd.roane.tn.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 3, 1890
Age 22
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Cause Detail Gunfire
Weapon Handgun

Town Marshal John Marshall Wester Jr. is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In TN, 498 of 769 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 64.8% of this state's fallen. That is 64.8 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Kingston Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Felonious
TN — Statewide
498
of 769 officers
64.8% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Marshall Wester Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

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

How John Marshall Wester Jr. Compares

Age at Death
22
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. John Marshall Wester Jr. is highlighted in Nov.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. John Marshall Wester Jr. was killed by handgun.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

0 officers from Kingston Police Department are honored on badge.nw.