John S. Donlan
Agency patch
Sergeant

John S. Donlan

Seattle Police Department — Seattle, WA
Felonious
End of Watch May 20, 1934
Age 64
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
The Vigil Panel 68 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant John Donlan was shot and killed while off duty in his home at 346 Kinnear Place.

He heard the sound of glass breaking in his basement and he went to retrieve his service weapon. An unknown suspect then came up from the basement and shot and killed him.

Sergeant Donlan had served with the Seattle Police Department for 30 years.

In Our Keeping

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Stewardship
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Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

30 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Donlan gave the Seattle Police Department 30 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Seattle community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Donlan.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Seattle, King County, WA
Platform Identity seatpd.king.wa.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 20, 1934
Tour of Duty 30 yrs
Age 64
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Gun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

John is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

34,117 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
  2. See the roll
Compare against
I

Time

In 1934, 178 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 16th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

John was 64. Of the 14,220 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. John had served 30 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

May holds 8% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Sundays: 15.2%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was gun, in 22.8% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Seattle Police Department has 60 officers remembered here, John among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Sergeant John S. Donlan

Seattle Police Department · End of Watch May 20, 1934

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 56-E

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