Roll of Honor

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Officer

John Van Horn

Parsons Police Department — Parsons, KS

Felonious

End of Watch July 28, 1899

Age 42

Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo

The Vigil Panel 15 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 1

Incident

Officer Van Horn was shot and killed while attempting to arrest several members of a robbery gang. As he attempted to pull the last member off of a fence he was shot and killed.

The suspect was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to 15 years. He was released August 7, 1908.

Officer Van Horn had been with the agency for 18 months and was survived by his wife.

Survivors

Officer Van Horn had been with the agency for 18 months and was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-KS-6BB80799
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

127 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Officer Van Horn gave the Parsons Police Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Parsons community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Department Parsons Police Department

Location Parsons, KS

Platform Identity ppd.labette.ks.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 28, 1899

Tour of Duty 1 yrs 6 mo

Age 42

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Gun; Unknown type

Offender Released in 1908

Officer John Van Horn is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In KS, 237 of 335 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 70.7% of this state's fallen. That is 16.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Parsons Police Department, 2 of 2 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.

Parsons Police Department

of 2 officers

100% Felonious

KS — Statewide

237

of 335 officers

70.7% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Van Horn'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 Van Horn Compares

Age at End of Watch

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

Years of Service

1.5

This officer

Avg for Felonious: 8.5 years

Offender Outcome

Released in 1908

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. John Van Horn is highlighted in Jul.

Jan

1,392

Feb

1,295

Mar

1,373

Apr

1,517

May

1,505

Jun

1,443

Jul

1,587

Aug

1,516

Sep

1,553

Oct

1,371

Nov

1,447

Dec

1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. John Van Horn was killed by gun; unknown type.

Gun; Unknown type

5,083

Handgun

2,077

Shotgun

922

Officer's handgun

909

Automobile; Alcohol involved

530

Rifle

518

Others Who Wore This Badge

1 officer from Parsons Police Department are honored on badge.nw.