Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Sheriff John Heppner succumbed to injuries sustained the previous night at about 10:00 pm when he fell or jumped from a car during a vehicle pursuit.
He had been notified by a service station owner that a man had just driven away from the business without paying for two quarts of oil. Deputy Heppner got into the service station owner's car as the two pursued the vehicle on Route 23 north of Pinconning. When they were approximately five miles north of Pinconning the service station owner realized that Deputy Heppner was no longer in the car.
He was found in the roadway suffering from serious injuries. He was taken to a local hospital where he died the following morning.
It was believed that he either fell from the car or attempted to jump onto the running board of the other car. He was struck by another truck after landing on the roadway.
Deputy Heppner had served with the Bay County Sheriff's Office for two years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two daughters, seven grandchildren, three sons, parents, and three siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-8C80DFC7- 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.
Deputy Sheriff Heppner served with the Bay County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Bay City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Heppner.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff John Thomas Heppner 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 MI, 229 of 718 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Bay County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Thomas Heppner's cause is highlighted.
How John Thomas Heppner Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Thomas Heppner is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Bay County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
