Roll of Honor
Incident
Special Officer John Cannon was struck and killed by a train at Oxbow Bend, Pennsylvania while performing crowd control during a local festival.
He was attempting to keep crowds away from the tracks and prevent groups of kids from riding on passing trains. He stepped out of the way of approaching passenger train directly into the path of a freight train.
Officer Cannon had served in law enforcement for five years.
Survivors
He was survived by his two sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-RR-51EF5A0A- 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 never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Special Officer Cannon gave the Jersey Central Railroad Police Department 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Jersey City community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Special Officer Cannon.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Special Officer John J. Cannon 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 Jersey Central Railroad Police Department, 4 of 4 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John J. Cannon's cause is highlighted.
How John J. Cannon Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John J. Cannon is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
3 officers from Jersey Central Railroad Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
