Incident
Patrolman John Thompson succumbed to injuries sustained on December 18th, 1877, when he was thrown from his horse while attempting to stop a runaway horse pulling a grocery wagon on Bedford Avenue near Van Buren Street (modern-day Clifton Place).
He was impaled by a piece of the grocery cart when he was thrown from his horse.
Patrolman Thompson was assigned to the Mounted Squad.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and five children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NY-902CFF02- 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
148 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Patrolman Thompson served with the Brooklyn Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the New York community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman John Thompson 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 NY, 645 of 2,147 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30% of this state's fallen. That is 30 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Brooklyn Police Department, 3 of 9 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Thompson's cause is highlighted.
How John Thompson Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Thompson is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
8 officers from Brooklyn Police Department are honored on badge.nw.

