Roll of Honor
Incident
Investigator John Rusnak was killed when his unmarked vehicle was struck from behind by a pickup truck while he was traveling southbound on the Tri-State Tollway in Alsip. Investigator Rusnak was about to meet with other officers from his unit to do surveillance on a suspect's home when his vehicle was struck. His vehicle was spun around and pinned against a guardrail. The pickup truck rolled several times after the initial impact, coming to rest on top of Investigator Rusnak's vehicle before both vehicles burst into flames. Investigator Rusnak died due to the fire and massive internal injuries. Investigator Rusnak had served with the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department for 11 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, daughter, son, parents, sister and grandparents.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-0B630B6A- 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.
Investigator Rusnak gave the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department 11 years.
Thank you for your service to the Maywood community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Investigator Rusnak.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Investigator John A. Rusnak 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 IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 4.1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Cook County Sheriff's Police Department, 3 of 7 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 42.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John A. Rusnak's cause is highlighted.
How John A. Rusnak Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John A. Rusnak is highlighted in Aug.
Others Who Wore This Badge
6 officers from Cook County Sheriff's Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
