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Police Officer

John McKenna

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department — St. Louis, MO

Felonious

End of Watch April 7, 1916

Age 29

The Vigil Panel 72 · Column 1 · Line 7 ›

Gender Male

Incident Media Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 175

Incident

Police Officer John McKenna was shot and killed at 618 N Whittier Street while investigating three brothers, ages 19, 20, and 21, he believed were stealing copper streetcar wire. He had observed a car believed to be used in the thefts and stopped the three occupants. When he searched the men he located a revolver on one of them, at which time he escorted them to a nearby business. One of the men asked if he could get a drink of water and Officer McKenna allowed him to do so. As the man walked behind Officer McKenna he produced a small handgun hidden in his waistband and shot him in the back of the head, killing him. The three men fled the scene and went to their home. Officer William Dillon, who received a description of the car while checking in during his rounds, recognized it as a car belonging to the brothers. He went to their home and spotted them in the garage. As he entered the garage at gunpoint he was attacked from behind with a hatchet and a shovel. The three suspects beat and hacked him to death and then buried his body in a shallow grave. One suspect was apprehended. The other two were apprehended five months later; one in St. Louis and the other in Kansas. Two were convicted of murder. One was sentenced to hang and the other to life. The one sentenced to hang soon had his sentence commuted to life. The third suspect died in the county jail in Topeka, Kansas on October 18, 1918, from influenza. He was being held on a federal charge for robbing a post office before being returned to Missouri. Another escaped from prison on April 23, 1939, and was captured in New Orleans on October 24, 1939, when he was caught burglarizing a tavern. He was returned to the Missouri Penitentiary where on January 6, 1941, he was pardoned by Governor Lloyd C. Stark. The other suspect was paroled on June 30, 1951, and returned to prison on August 11, 1953, for violating his parole.

Survivors

Police Officer McKenna was survived by his wife and father.

In Our Keeping

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

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Police Officer McKenna served with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the St. Louis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer McKenna.

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

Agency

Department St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department

Type Police Department

Location St. Louis, City of Saint Louis, MO

Platform Identity stlopd.saintlouis.mo.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 7, 1916

Age 29

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Handgun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

John is one of 15,742 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

34,102 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

Compare against

Time

In 1916, 155 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 24th heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States

Who

John was 29. Of the 14,219 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38.

Age at death

Where he stood among them

Age by years of service

III

When

April holds 8.4% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Fridays: 14.3%.

By month

By day of the week

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was handgun, in 23.4% of these deaths.

Every cause

Weapons recorded