Roll of Honor
Incident
City Marshal John Swearingen was accidentally shot and killed when his gun fell to the floor and discharged inside the city jail. He had arrested a disorderly man and brought him to the jail along with a deputy county marshal. Marshal Swearingen had placed the man in a cell and bent over to search him when his pistol fell from his pocket. The pistol discharged when it hit the ground, and the round struck Marshal Swearingen in the leg near his groin. Marshal Swearingen succumbed to his wound the following day. Marshal Swearingen had served with the Independence Police Department for three separate terms.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-EB2E90DB- 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
142 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
City Marshal Swearingen gave the Independence Police Department 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Independence community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
City Marshal John M. Swearingen 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 Independence Police Department, 1 of 8 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 12.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John M. Swearingen's cause is highlighted.
How John M. Swearingen Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John M. Swearingen is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
7 officers from Independence Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
