Incident
Police Officer John Burdette suffered a fatal heart attack while attempting to arrest a disorderly subject inside a dance hall on the West Side of the city.
He had been called to the dance hall several times due to rowdy behavior. Upon returning to the dance hall he encountered a man he had previously ejected for being drunk. The man began to argue with Officer Burdette as he was placed under arrest. Officer Burdette suddenly collapsed and died.
Officer Burdette had served with the Manistique Police Department for two years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-289A40C1- 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.
Police Officer Burdette gave the Manistique Department of Public Safety 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Michigan. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Burdette.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer John Burdette is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In MI, 39 of 718 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 5.4% of this state's fallen. That is 1.4 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Manistique Department of Public Safety, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Burdette's cause is highlighted.
How John Burdette Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. John Burdette is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Manistique Department of Public Safety are honored on badge.nw.