Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman John McGrath died after falling down the front steps of 922 S Morgan Street at about 4:30 am.
The service garage owner at the location regularly allowed officers to use it to escape the elements while walking their beats. Patrolman McGrath and his patrol partner had entered the garage's office to escape the freezing temperatures early Christmas morning. At about 4:30 am Patrolman McGrath walked outside but slipped on the icy front steps. His partner found him several minutes later suffering from a skull fracture.
The patrol wagon was summoned and transported Patrolman McGrath to Cook County Hospital where he died later in the day.
Patrolman McGrath had served with the Chicago Police Department for four years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-2441CF93- 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.
Patrolman McGrath gave the Chicago Police Department 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman McGrath.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman John M. McGrath 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 Chicago Police Department, 107 of 571 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 18.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John M. McGrath's cause is highlighted.
How John M. McGrath Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John M. McGrath is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
570 officers from Chicago Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
