Incident
High Constable John Minetree succumbed to injuries sustained three days earlier when he fell from a buggy on Cedar Street.
He and a magistrate were conducting official business when the accident occurred. The horse pulling the buggy got spooked by an object in the street and jumped to the side, causing Constable Minetree to be thrown to the ground. He struck his head on the ground, causing him to suffer a head injury. He slipped into a coma and his condition worsened until he passed away.
Constable Minetree had been elected to the position of High Constable the previous year and had been in office almost 13 months. He had previously served as a gauger for the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Internal Revenue.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and six children.
In Our Keeping
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BO-US-VA-98B9F1EE- Stewardship
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- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
145 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
High Constable Minetree gave the Petersburg High Constable's Office 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Petersburg community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
High Constable John Minetree, Jr. 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 VA, 204 of 655 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.1% of this state's fallen. That is 31.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Minetree, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How John Minetree, Jr. Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Minetree, Jr. is highlighted in Jul.
Others Who Wore This Badge
0 officers from Petersburg High Constable's Office are honored on badge.nw.