Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman John Kavanaugh was struck and killed by a train while keeping watch on a train yard after a rash of freight car robberies.
Patrolman Kavanaugh was on his beat near West 99th Street when he was struck by a New York Central Railroad train. His body was found in bushes approximately 10 feet from the tracks.
Patrolman Kavanaugh was assigned to the West 100th Street Station, the present day 24th Precinct.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two daughters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-74414AFA- 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
31 years. You could have gone home.
Patrolman Kavanaugh gave the New York City Police Department 31 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Kavanaugh.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman John Kavanaugh 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 NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At New York City Police Department, 283 of 1237 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 22.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Kavanaugh's cause is highlighted.
How John Kavanaugh Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Kavanaugh is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1,236 officers from New York City Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
