Roll of Honor
John Cleophus "Johnny" Ford
Incident
Guard Johnnie Ford drowned while searching for two escaped prisoners in Sugarland, Texas.
At approximately 2:45 p.m., Guard Ford had taken a squad of convicts to cut wood near the Brazos River about seven miles from the prison farm. Two of the prisoners fled into the woods and river bottoms. Guard Ford and several other guards pursued the convicts. The officers were on horseback and located a spot on the river where they thought the prisoners had crossed. Guard Ford started across the river when his horse floundered, and he fell into the river. Ford went under, came to the surface, and disappeared. The horse went on across the river. The other guards dragged the river and later recovered his body.
Guard Ford had served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for approximately nine years, assigned to the Central State Prison Farm.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-F54452B7- 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.
Guard Ford gave the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Huntsville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Guard Ford.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Guard John Cleophus "Johnny" Ford 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 TX, 653 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27% of this state's fallen. That is 4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division, 32 of 124 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Cleophus "Johnny" Ford's cause is highlighted.
How John Cleophus "Johnny" Ford Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Cleophus "Johnny" Ford is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
123 officers from Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
