John Lee Butler, Sr.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office — Jacksonville, FL

Cardiac

End of Watch March 10, 1997

Age 47

Tour of Duty 18 yrs

Badge 6521

The Vigil Panel 143 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 29

Incident

Officer John Butler suffered a fatal heart attack at the scene of a standoff at an apartment on the 3400 block of Blanding Boulevard. He had responded to a call of a man molesting his own daughter, and upon arrival, shots were fired at the officers. Officer Butler was rescuing a woman who had been pinned down between two cars by gunfire coming from the suspect. He ran to her and gave her cover with his body as he returned her to a safe area. He then suffered a fatal heart attack. The suspect was later arrested. Officer Butler had served with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for 18 years.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-FL-985A511B
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 Butler gave the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office 18 years.
Thank you for your service to the Jacksonville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Butler.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Jacksonville Sheriff's Office

Location Jacksonville, FL

Platform Identity jso.duval.fl.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch March 10, 1997

Tour of Duty 18 yrs

Age 47

Badge Number 6521

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Cardiac

Weapon Person

Offender Cause: Heart attack

Officer John Lee Butler, Sr. 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 FL, 62 of 1,008 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 6.2% of this state's fallen. That is 2.2 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.

At Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, 5 of 30 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 16.7% of this agency's fallen.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office

of 30 officers

16.7% Cardiac

FL — Statewide

of 1,008 officers

6.2% Cardiac

Nationwide

1,306

of 32,508 officers

4% Cardiac