Roll of Honor
Incident
Detective Sergeant John Bonin suffered a fatal heart attack while chasing three juveniles in the Bradley Woods, off of Hanover Street.
He observed the three juveniles in the woods, including a girl whose father had previously called police expressing concerns about her. As he started walking towards them they three began to run. As Sergeant Bonin chased after them he suddenly collapsed having suffered a fatal heart attack. His body was found after he failed to return to the police station or to his home.
Sergeant Bonin had served with the Meriden Police Department for 21 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CT-82BE87CF- 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.
Detective Sergeant Bonin gave the Meriden Police Department 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Meriden community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Sergeant Bonin.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Detective Sergeant John M. Bonin is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In CT, 14 of 169 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 8.3% of this state's fallen. That is 4.3 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Meriden Police Department, 2 of 2 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John M. Bonin's cause is highlighted.
How John M. Bonin Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. John M. Bonin is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Meriden Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
