John T. "Sonny" King, III

Georgia Bureau of Investigation — Decatur, GA

Felonious

End of Watch September 13, 1985

Age 45

Tour of Duty 21 yrs

Badge 16

The Vigil Panel 130 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 5

Incident

Special Agent in Charge Sonny King was shot and killed at a gun shop while attempting to serve a bench warrant for the arrest of a suspect in a homicide investigation. At 1:00 p.m., Agent King, another agent, the Sheriff of Morgan County, and a deputy sheriff went to the suspect's gun shop on Thankful Road. They told the suspect that they had a warrant for his arrest. The suspect pulled out a pistol and shot Agent King, striking him in the chest. The man fired a second shot, hitting another agent in the arm. A third agent returned fire and shot the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital and died later that same evening. Special Agent in Charge King had served in law enforcement for 21 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and three daughters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-GA-15ED852C
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.
Special Agent in Charge King gave the Georgia Bureau of Investigation 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Special Agent in Charge King.

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

Agency

Department Georgia Bureau of Investigation

Location Decatur, GA

Platform Identity georfed.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 13, 1985

Tour of Duty 21 yrs

Age 45

Badge Number 16

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Handgun; .45 caliber

Offender Shot and killed

Special Agent in Charge John T. "Sonny" King, III is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In GA, 548 of 903 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.7% of this state's fallen. That is 6.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Georgia Bureau of Investigation, 4 of 6 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation

of 6 officers

66.7% Felonious

GA — Statewide

548

of 903 officers

60.7% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious