Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Chief John Brown was killed when his car collided with a bus which had stopped for a tree that had blown over in the highway. Chief Brown was responding to a rural area near Green's Crossroads in Bertie County, which a tornado had just devastated. Three other people were killed as a result of the storm.
Chief Brown was survived by his wife and eight children.
Survivors
Chief Brown was survived by his wife and eight children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-88C22E05- 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 Chief Brown served with the Colerain Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Colerain community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Chief Brown.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Chief John Watson Brown 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 NC, 205 of 664 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.9% of this state's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Watson Brown's cause is highlighted.
How John Watson Brown Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Watson Brown is highlighted in Feb.