Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer John Looney and Officer Nicholas Beckman were electrocuted while attempting to use call boxes on their beats. Earlier in the evening a power line consisting of 3200 volts had crossed onto the police call box circuit at Eight and Carr Streets. The crossing of the wires caused the current to go through the call boxes. Officer Beckman was electrocuted at the call box on 18th Street between Washington Street and Carr Street. Officer Looney was electrocuted at the call box at 12th and Morgan Streets. Officer Michael Burke died of his injuries one year later. Thirteen other officers were also injured in the incident. Officer Looney had served with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for seven years. He was survived by his wife and two children and is buried at Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in St. Louis, Missouri.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children and is buried at Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in St.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-286D1A91- 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 Looney gave the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the St. Louis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Looney.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer John P. Looney 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 MO, 237 of 813 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.2% of this state's fallen. That is 1.8 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, 56 of 176 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John P. Looney's cause is highlighted.
How John P. Looney Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John P. Looney is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
175 officers from St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
