Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff John Nunn was killed when a gasoline tanker exploded in downtown St. Johns. He and a citizen had evacuated onlookers after a gasoline tanker caught fire in the entrance to a service garage. As they were returning to the scene, the tanker exploded and the rear of the truck pinned them against a building. Due to their efforts, only one other person was injured. The resulting fire burned down the surrounding block of businesses.
Survivors
Sheriff Nunn was survived by his wife, three sons, and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AZ-847F35DF- 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
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Sheriff Nunn gave the Apache County Sheriff's Office 6 years.
Thank you for your service to the St. Johns community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sheriff Nunn.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff John Nunn is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In AZ, 95 of 330 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.8% of this state's fallen. That is 2.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Apache County Sheriff's Office, 2 of 7 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Nunn's cause is highlighted.
How John Nunn Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Nunn is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
6 officers from Apache County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
