John Marsden Sampson
Patrolman

John Marsden Sampson

Winston-Salem Police Department — Winston-Salem, NC
Accident
End of Watch December 8, 1940
Age 34
Tour of Duty 3 yrs 7 mo
The Vigil Panel 77 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Patrolman John Sampson succumbed to injuries received four days earlier when his motorcycle struck a bread truck at 16th Street and Patterson Street while he was pursuing a speeding vehicle.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-F16658C0
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Patrolman Sampson gave the Winston-Salem Police Department 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Winston-Salem community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Sampson.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Other
Location Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, NC
Platform Identity wpd.forsyth.nc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 8, 1940
Tour of Duty 3 yrs 7 mo
Age 34
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Weapon Automobile

Patrolman John Marsden Sampson is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 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. That is 30.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Winston-Salem Police Department, 8 of 19 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 42.1% of this agency's fallen.

Winston-Salem Police Department
8
of 19 officers
42.1% Accident
NC — Statewide
205
of 664 officers
30.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,756 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Marsden Sampson's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How John Marsden Sampson Compares

Age at Death
34
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
3.6
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Marsden Sampson is highlighted in Dec.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897