Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer John Blessing was struck by a vehicle and killed while in a foot pursuit with a narcotics suspect. While chasing the suspect, Officer Blessing stopped traffic at the corner of Army Street and Folsom Street so he could get into a backup unit when a passing truck stuck him from behind. The narcotics suspect was apprehended in Louisiana a few weeks later after tireless efforts by the San Francisco police department's gang unit discovering information that lead to the arrest. Due to California law at the time the suspect was only charged with a misdemeanor for resisting arrest; however, Officer Blessing's death prompted the state legislature of California to change the law making it a felony to resist arrest if an officer is seriously injured or killed as a result. Officer Blessing had been with the agency for 12 years and was assigned to the Special Operations Task Force.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-2A434B23- 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.
Officer Blessing gave the San Francisco Police Department 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the San Francisco community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Blessing.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer John J. Blessing 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 CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At San Francisco Police Department, 35 of 106 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John J. Blessing's cause is highlighted.
How John J. Blessing Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John J. Blessing is highlighted in Nov.
Others Who Wore This Badge
105 officers from San Francisco Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
