Roll of Honor

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Village Marshal

John Phipps

Wood River Police Department — Wood River, IL

Accident

End of Watch January 25, 1916

Age 58

The Vigil Panel 30 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 1

Incident

Village Marshal John Phipps succumbed to rabies as a result of being bitten by a rabid dog. The dog had bitten a young girl and, as Marshal Phipps attempted to kill it, the dog also bit the officer. After showing symptoms of the disease, he was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital where he later died.

Survivors

Marshal Phipps was survived by wife and 12 children (several from two previous marriages).

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-IL-C5A5AA9C
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.
Village Marshal Phipps served with the Wood River Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Wood River community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Village Marshal Phipps.

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

Agency

Department Wood River Police Department

Location Wood River, IL

Platform Identity wrpd.madison.il.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 25, 1916

Age 58

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Village Marshal John Phipps 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 Wood River Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.

Wood River Police Department

of 2 officers

50% Accident

IL — Statewide

354

of 1,318 officers

26.9% Accident

Nationwide

10,088

of 32,508 officers

31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Phipps's cause is highlighted.

Felonious

17,623 (54.2%)

Accident

10,088 (31%)

Illness

2,974 (9.1%)

Cardiac

1,306 (4%)

Undetermined

260 (0.8%)

Suicide

256 (0.8%)

vehicular

1 (0%)

How John Phipps Compares

Age at End of Watch

This officer

Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Phipps is highlighted in Jan.

Jan

820

Feb

730

Mar

748

Apr

707

May

847

Jun

795

Jul

897

Aug

937

Sep

913

Oct

925

Nov

872

Dec

897

Others Who Wore This Badge

1 officer from Wood River Police Department are honored on badge.nw.