Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Walter Johnson died from complications as a result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.
Sergeant Johnson was an Alabama National Guard veteran who had served with the St. Floridian Police Department for four years and retired from the Alabama Highway Patrol.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Sergeant Walter L. Johnson died on December 17, 2020 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 58.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, and three grandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AL-618C5777- 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
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Sergeant Johnson gave the St. Florian Police Department 37 years.
Thank you for your service to the Florence community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Johnson.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Walter L. Johnson served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Sergeant Walter L. Johnson is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In AL, 23 of 643 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 3.6% of this state's fallen. That is 5.5 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Walter L. Johnson's cause is highlighted.
How Walter L. Johnson Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Walter L. Johnson is highlighted in Dec.