Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman John Dempsey succumbed to injuries sustained the previous day when he was struck by a Grand Trunk Railroad train.
When the collision occurred, he was guarding the railroad crossing at the intersection of 26th Street and Stewart Avenue. He was taken to Mercy Hospital where he died the following day.
Patrolman Dempsey was assigned to the Seventh Precinct.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-4BDAF029- 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
132 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Patrolman Dempsey served with the Chicago Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman John J. Dempsey 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 J. Dempsey's cause is highlighted.
How John J. Dempsey Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John J. Dempsey is highlighted in Jul.
Others Who Wore This Badge
570 officers from Chicago Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
