Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper Rick Johnson was killed after being struck by a vehicle during a traffic stop on I-94 in Van Buren County, Michigan.
The trooper had approached the stopped vehicle on the passenger side and was returning to his Chevy Tahoe cruiser when a third vehicle ran off of the roadway and rear-ended his vehicle right as he was walking in between it and the vehicle he had stopped. He was momentarily pinned between the two vehicles before the Tahoe spun into the travel lanes, trapping him underneath.
Trooper Johnson was flown to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the vehicle which struck him received minor injuries in the crash.
On the day before the incident, Trooper Johnson had convinced a suicidal man not to jump off of an overpass near the site of the accident.
Trooper Johnson had served with the Michigan State Police for five years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and young children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-BA4C4EB9- 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.
Trooper Johnson gave the Michigan State Police 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Michigan. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Johnson.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Trooper Rick Lee Johnson 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 MI State Police, 29 of 57 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Rick Lee Johnson's cause is highlighted.
How Rick Lee Johnson Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Rick Lee Johnson is highlighted in May.
Others Who Wore This Badge
56 officers from MI State Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
