Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant John Aguilar died after contracting leukemia as a result of extended contact with benzene, a chemical known to be a carcinogen. This occurred while he was a member of the agency's narcotics unit. During that time, Sergeant Aguilar had conducted over 25 raids on drug labs containing the chemical. He was admitted to the hospital for treatment on January 28, 1998, and passed away on June 30, 1998.
Sergeant Aguilar had served with the Santa Ana Police Department for 11 years and had previously served with the California Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement for 10 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, four daughters, and one grandson.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-57D26369- 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
21 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Aguilar gave the Santa Ana Police Department 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Santa Ana community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Aguilar.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant John Alfred Aguilar 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 CA, 75 of 1,837 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 4.1% of this state's fallen. That is 5 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Santa Ana Police Department, 1 of 4 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 25% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Alfred Aguilar's cause is highlighted.
How John Alfred Aguilar Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. John Alfred Aguilar is highlighted in Jun.
Others Who Wore This Badge
3 officers from Santa Ana Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
