Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Sullivan was accidentally shot and killed when another officer's service revolver from his pocket and discharged. The accident occurred as several officers were speaking in the police station. As one of the officer's stood from his chair his pistol fell and discharged when it struck the ground.
Officer Sullivan had served with the Lexington Police Department for 14 years and was assigned to supervise the Health Department.
Survivors
He was survived by his mother and several brothers.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-KY-FDEB329F- 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
129 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Health Officer Sullivan gave the Lexington Police Department 14 years.
Thank you for your service to the Lexington community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Health Officer John J. Sullivan 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 KY, 161 of 983 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 16.4% of this state's fallen. That is 14.6 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Lexington Police Department, 3 of 12 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John J. Sullivan's cause is highlighted.
How John J. Sullivan Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John J. Sullivan is highlighted in May.
Others Who Wore This Badge
11 officers from Lexington Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
