Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman John McGonigal was killed when six barrels of grain alcohol exploded in the Warren Street Station at 526 Warren Avenue.
The alcohol had been confiscated during a raid and was being stored in the station house as evidence.
It is believed the alcohol was ignited by a spark from Patrolman McGonigal's pipe as he walked past it.
Patrolman McGonigal served with the Chicago Police Department for 35 years and was assigned to the 20th District.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and predeceased by an adult son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IL-ADC03A55- 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
35 years. You could have gone home.
Patrolman McGonigal gave the Chicago Police Department 35 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman McGonigal.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman John J. McGonigal 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. McGonigal's cause is highlighted.
How John J. McGonigal Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John J. McGonigal is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
570 officers from Chicago Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
