Johnnie B. Watts
Agency patch
Deputy Sheriff

Johnnie B. Watts

Forrest County Sheriff's Office — Hattiesburg, MS
Veteran → Accident
End of Watch December 15, 1976
Age 47
Tour of Duty 3 mo
The Vigil Panel 118 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Watts was killed in an accident when his car collided with another car operated by a 50-year-old man who was critically injured. He was charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence.

Survivors

Deputy Watts had served with the Forrest County Sheriff's Office for 3 months and was survived by his two children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MS-25DBD42D
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.
Deputy Sheriff Watts served with the Forrest County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Hattiesburg community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Watts.

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

Agency

Type Sheriff's Office
Location Hattiesburg, Forrest County, MS
Platform Identity fcso.forrest.ms.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 15, 1976
Tour of Duty 3 mo
Age 47
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Johnnie B. Watts served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Deputy Sheriff Johnnie B. Watts 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 MS, 89 of 350 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25.4% of this state's fallen. That is 25.4 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Forrest County Sheriff's Office, 2 of 3 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.

Forrest County Sheriff's Office
2
of 3 officers
66.7% Accident
MS — Statewide
89
of 350 officers
25.4% 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. Johnnie B. Watts's cause is highlighted.

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

How Johnnie B. Watts Compares

Age at Death
47
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
0.2
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Johnnie B. Watts 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

Johnnie B. Watts served in the United States military before joining law enforcement.

Visit Johnnie B. Watts’s page on salute.nw →

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

Others Who Wore This Badge

2 officers from Forrest County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.