Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer John Byko was killed when his patrol car was struck head-on by another vehicle on Route 25 (modern-day Route 1) near the entrance to the Rose Hill Cemetery.
The driver of the vehicle had previously lost his right to drive after being involved in a fatal crash seven years earlier. He was convicted of charges related to the crash that killed Officer Byko. He was sentenced to six months in jail and lost his right to drive.
His partner was injured in the crash but survived.
Officer Byko had served with the Linden Police Department for seven years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-F5CF3FD1- 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.
Police Officer Byko gave the Linden Police Department 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the Linden community. Thank you 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 Byko, Jr. served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Police Officer John Byko, Jr. 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%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Byko, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How John Byko, Jr. Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Byko, Jr. is highlighted in Jun.