Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper John Staas was killed in an automobile accident while on patrol in Mullica Township. Trooper Staas was traveling west on the White Horse Pike in heavy fog and struck the left rear of a truck going the same direction. His police car careened off the road and into a tree and was pronounced dead at the scene. The dense fog was a traffic hazard for most of South Jersey. Trooper Staas was a United States Navy veteran of World War II and had served with the New Jersey State Police for almost seven years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two sons, and two daughters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-6CCE1CBE- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Trooper Staas gave the New Jersey State Police 6 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
John W. Staas served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Trooper John W. Staas 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 NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 8.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At New Jersey State Police, 53 of 84 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 63.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John W. Staas's cause is highlighted.
How John W. Staas Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John W. Staas is highlighted in Dec.
Others Who Wore This Badge
83 officers from New Jersey State Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
