Roll of Honor
John Nicola
Incident
Federal Prohibition Agent John Nicola was killed in an automobile accident near Baltimore, Maryland, while he and two other prohibition agents pursued a vehicle they suspected of transporting liquor. The vehicle they were chasing down Ridge Road suddenly turned onto Selma Avenue. Agent Nicola attempted to follow them but lost control of the vehicle and crashed. The two other agents and a prisoner in their custody were injured in the crash. The suspects driving the vehicle took the injured officers to the hospital, and they left without anyone knowing who they were. They were never apprehended. The prisoner fled after the crash but was captured a couple of weeks later. Agent Nicola was a United States Army World War I veteran and had served as a prohibition officer for two years. He had previously served on the Metropolitan Police Department, DC, for five years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and 2-year-old daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-94BB2A00- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Federal Prohibition Agent Nicola gave the United States Department of the Treasury 7 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
John Nicola served in the Army before joining law enforcement.
Federal Prohibition Agent John Nicola 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 DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At United States Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service - Bureau of Prohibition, 16 of 37 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 43.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Nicola's cause is highlighted.
How John Nicola Compares
Offender Outcome
Never apprehended
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Nicola is highlighted in Oct.
Others Who Wore This Badge
36 officers from United States Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service - Bureau of Prohibition are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
